Puppets on a String
by EchoFallsFromGrace
Summary: A look at the coven through Dark Cordelia's eyes. Co written with graceonce, trigger warnings applicable.
1. Chapter 1

**As it stands, warning for content. (This chapter is rather tame)**

**Rated M**

**Music to listen to: Mhysa, from the GoT soundtrack. Mother, in low Valyrian. **

**Co-written with graceonce on tumblr.  
**

Cordelia couldn't help but thank her lucky stars. The new girl, the newest addition to her growing coven of students, was more than she'd expected. Rather pretty compared to other budding teenagers, and quiet, so quiet. A breath of fresh air compared to Queenie's whines and Madison's bitching. She was rather pleasant to be around, she had a nice smile, she let herself be pulled by the tide.

It's horrible, but Cordelia wasn't one to like the girls who fight back.

It'd been a long time since Miss Robichaux's Academy has been this full, she mused as she rummaged through her ingredients cabinet. Four girls. That was three more than a mere two years ago, something Cordelia didn't think she'd be able to achieve. It used to be just Madison and her and Nan had followed not long after that. Queenie was rather new. But even with the new recruits, the fact remained, the coven was dying.

If she was being honest with herself, the blonde headmistress couldn't give two shits about the coven itself. It hadn't helped her after all these years, why should she help it?

_For the girls_, she guessed. _For the girls_.

They made her feel alive.

Well. One, anyway. Two, maybe, now that Zoe had joined their ranks.

She straightened as she heard the greenhouse's door open and close. She didn't have to turn to know who it was. She could smell the familiar perfume and she could hear the familiar click of heels. She sighed softly, almost giddily. "What is it, darling?"

"I need your permission for a little field trip."

Cordelia's dark eyes glanced sideways at Madison Montgomery, and she couldn't help but appreciate the champagne dress the actress was wearing. Her eyes raked up the girl's body before meeting her hazel eyes. "Isn't it a little late for a field trip?"

"No."

The headmistress bit the inside of her cheek and put down the vials she'd been holding before turning to face Madison. She leaned her hip on the counter and crossed her arms. "Where are you going?"

"I thought I'd show Zoe a little bit of New Orleans, since it's her first time here, and I'm supposed to be welcoming, or whatever word it was that you used."

"The city's big. Where are you going."

Madison scowled. "It's just this little block party that-"

"No." Cordelia turned away and reached for a beaker above her head.

"No?" The honey blonde echoed, eyes wide. "Why not?"

"We both know you drink way too much, you'll get yourself in trouble." Cordelia answered easily.

The actress scoffed. "I'll be careful, I swear."

"No, you won't be. And I'd rather not have to go get you and Zoe from a 'little block party'." She smirked. "What would the tabloids think if they found out you passed out and had to be driven home by your teacher?" A look of worry and hurt flashed on Madison's face. Her weak point. Her reputation. Or what was left of it.

She suddenly narrowed her eyes. "You're jealous."

Cordelia looked her up and down. "Jealous."

"Yeah, you don't want me to go out because you're afraid I'll meet someone." Madison snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "You do this every time, it's getting ridiculous. I can't leave to go grocery shopping without you harping after me."

The older blonde's eyes flashed dangerously. "Watch your tongue, Madison."

The young witch's features softened as she grinned and sidled up to Cordelia's side. "You don't like sharing, I get it."

"Or," Cordelia snapped. "Maybe I don't want you proving to Zoe that joining the coven was a bad idea."

"Or maybe you don't like sharing." Madison place a small kiss on Cordelia's cheek. "Zoe'll be fine. She's boring, but I can tell that she wants to party. The girl needs it. Please, Foxxy?"

Cordelia grimaced at Madison. She hated the nickname, but she had to tolerate it. It was better than Cordy. "I think I said no."

Madison pulled the headmistress flush against her, her lips traveling up her jawline and to her ear. "Please, Cordelia? I'll make it up to you."

Cordelia grasped the girl's arm and pulled her away. "If I remember well, you promised me that you'd do whatever I asked you to do."

"It's one party."

"One too many."

"Cordelia. You're hurting me."

The headmistress let go of the witch and turned back to her potions. "Do whatever you want. But you'll regret it, one way or another."

Madison believed her, but she kissed Cordelia goodbye anyway before sauntering out of the greenhouse.

And Cordelia couldn't believe she'd chosen _her_. The girl was unreliable. It was a wonder she hadn't mentioned their…_relationship_ to anyone. Though the older blonde guessed that even if she did decide to tell, no one would believe her. She was a meth head and a drunk and an attention whore. And that was the only safe bet with Cordelia keeping Madison all to herself.

She'd realized that years ago, when the fifteen year old girl had first stepped into the academy, puffy eyed from crying with knobbly knees she hadn't grown into yet. She'd been more than eager to give her love and attention to the blonde headmistress. It hadn't taken long for Cordelia to sneak into the witch's bed. Maybe it was her big hazel eyes, maybe it was the honey in her voice, and maybe, just maybe, if Cordelia admitted it to herself, it was Madison's thirst for unconditional want and need for flattery that had pulled the blonde in like a moth to a flame. She wanted to give her that, she wanted to be the sole source of those feelings, she wanted to completely own the girl.

And now that she did, she wasn't about to let go.

Though, she had to admit, Zoe was cute. And she didn't talk a lot. She filed the thought away in the back of her head, turning back to her potions as the greenhouse's door opened again.

This perfume was familiar too, but not in a good way. It reminded her of whiskey and unkempt men and of so many nights crying herself to sleep. And even though she knew who was coming up behind her, Cordelia jumped and yelped anyway, her beaker slipping through her fingers and breaking into a million pieces on the floor.

She turned to meet the Supreme's dark hazel eyes. The blood in her veins froze and her hands began to shake as she grabbed onto the counter. Five now made six, and two could keep a secret as long as a third didn't stick her witchy nose into it. But the third always did. That was her habit.

Fiona Goode was home.


	2. Chapter 2

**As always, this contains dark content and is rated M.**

**Music to listen to, Perfume, by Britney Spears  
**

_"I'll never tell, tell on myself but I hope she smells my perfume"_

Cowritten with graceonce

Big thank you to Ly Merrick and Foxxaye for beta-ing!

**—**

The school was eerily quiet, something Cordelia had grown accustomed to in the last few years. As she moved past each door, knowing very well the rooms behind them were empty, she let her mind wander.

She used to walk the halls like this when she lived alone with Madison. The girl slept late and she'd get up and sneak out of their room to enjoy the morning hours by herself and to finish paperwork (bills, mostly). And then one day, a new girl decided to visit.

Nan herself was interesting. Her parents didn't seem to care too much about her and had let her take a train all the way to New Orleans to meet with Cordelia. She was a Salem descendant, one of the last of her line. She was powerful, the headmistress had learned that right away.

And she was dangerous.

The teenager was a clairvoyant, and it'd taken her about five seconds for her to relate all of Cordelia's thoughts on a dog she'd kept for three months as a child. And Cordelia'd been scared. If she could access memories of an animal she herself barely remembered, what would she know about Madison? The blonde had been training for years to keep others out of her head, of course, but the fear of being found out didn't leave her mind.

She'd given Nan a spot in the academy almost right away. She couldn't plead lack of space, obviously, and she needed to keep an eye on the girl, who knew what else she'd discovered in the back of Cordelia's thoughts?

She moved farther down the hallway, reaching the rooms at the end of it. Unlike the others, they held some semblance of life.

She knocked on the first door and Nan and Queenie moved easily past her, like shadows. A meeting called, their mornings interrupted by a new classmate, a new sister. A new enemy, for some. Her dark eyes followed Nan until they'd taken the stairs.

Her hand shook slightly as she knocked on the last door, results of stress that plagued her every morning, every night, her secrets the cause of it all. Unrelenting.

Madison Montgomery opened the door, clad in only her underwear, black and cheetah print. She'd missed Madison the night before, the girls had come back so late from their party and the witch hadn't dared come to her room (She guessed it had something to do with the fact that she now roomed with Zoe), and seeing her now melted her insides. Cordelia's eyes roamed up the girl's body hungrily, and she finally met her hazel eyes with her own dark ones.

"Meeting. Downstairs." She said. The actress raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Shall I come down in this?"

She was teasing, begging, in her own way for the headmistress. Cordelia felt her breath hitch in her throat as Madison taunted her. She was right there, and it had been so long for both of them, what with the students roaming the halls.

But just past Madison's shoulder was a blushing Zoe. She had watched the short exchange in a mixture of confusion and embarrassment from the desk a few feet away. Cordelia tore her eyes away from Madison, shaking her head as she attempted to contain her own embarrassment in front of the new student. She couldn't scare her away like this, not yet, not before she had a chance with her. She abandoned her task and walked away from the room without a word, throwing a dark look back at Madison. She didn't have to voice her concerns, her eyes said enough.

A warning. A threat. A promise. Madison grimaced and closed the door.

Cordelia breathed a small sigh of relief when conversation resumed from inside the room as she walked down the bright hall to her mother's door. She had been stinking up the house all day and Cordelia's nostrils burned as she came closer. Ignoring her disgust and the urge to gag, she knocked.

"Fiona?" She called. "I know you're there."

There was no response. Madison and Zoe had started fighting, their voices reverberating through the halls. Cordelia considered going back to the room to break it up, especially if it meant there was another chance she could see Madison—

Cordelia stopped herself. Fiona had never been clairvoyant, at least not enough to get into Cordelia's mind after her training to keep her out, but she would still be stupid to risk it. She knocked again.

"Open the door, mother!"

After a few seconds, Fiona opened her door slightly and peeked through the crack between her door and the doorframe. "I'm kind of busy right now."

Even through the small crack Fiona allowed, the smell became even worse, like death itself.

"My god, what's that smell?"

"I, uh…I went to a Chinese doctor," Fiona explained. "He gave me some herbs to boil and I know it's kind of pungent."

Fiona spoke softly and seemed to stumble over her own words. Given that Fiona had never known for keeping her mouth shut or for feeling frazzled, Cordelia tried to look over her shoulder into the room, but Fiona moved to block her line of vision.

"Well, we're about to have our morning gathering," Cordelia told her. "I'm going to be going over the house rules with the girls and I would like you to hear them"

"Hm…sounds riveting." Fiona laughed to herself as she closed the door. "I'll be down in a minute."

—

Cordelia and her girls sat in the living room awaiting the Supreme as she dawdled around upstairs. In the meantime, Queenie had launched into the story of her discovery, of the man who spat insults at her and ended up with third-degree burns. Queenie reveled in the descriptions of the man's arm burning and the comebacks she shot back at him, and it sure seemed to pull her audience in: Zoe was enthralled in the story. She sat watching Queenie, mouth slightly open, eyes wide. Cordelia dug her teeth into her bottom lip as she stared at the girl. Cordelia had to admit, Madison had been getting older and the drug use had thinned her hair and stolen the youthfulness from her face, while Zoe, innocent until the incident with her boyfriend, had all the beauty Madison had lost. She was so young, so willing, and it would be _so easy_.

Cordelia felt a sharp shoe dig into her leg. She looked over at a dissatisfied Madison.

"_What?_" She mouthed mockingly. "_Bored of me?_"

Cordelia shot Madison a warning look and Madison rolled her eyes in response. Queenie had just about finished up her story and had turned to Cordelia.

"It made the local newspaper and that's how Miss Cordelia found me," she finished.

Cordelia forced a smile onto her face. "You didn't want to join us at first."

Queenie laughed bitterly. "I grew up on white girl shit like Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Cracker. I didn't even know that there were black witches. But as it turns out, I'm an heir to Tituba." Queenie turned to Zoe to explain. "She was a house slave in Salem. She was the first to be accused of witchcraft, so technically I'm part of your tribe."

Madison scoffed. "Is this where we all sing Kumbaya?"

"Bitch, I will eat you!" Queenie stood and lunged at Madison. Alarm bells went off in Cordelia's mind and she was consumed by the need to protect Madison first and worry about reputation second. She jumped in between the girls.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Cordelia paused as she searched for words to explain herself. "You guys have…got to start taking care of each other. We have enough enemies on the outside."

"Miss Foxx?" A deep voice called.

"Yes?"

Cordelia turned to see two police officers showing their badges. Her stomach dropped and she felt a chill crawl up her spine along with a sudden urge to vomit. She looked desperately at Madison.

"Detective Sanchez," the man continued. "NOPD homicide, my partner is Detective Stiles."

_Homicide?_ The word rang through Cordelia's brain as she turned back to face the detective. "What's this about?"

"We'd like to have a word with two of your girls."

—

Cordelia had sat and listened to this man interrogate her girls for around fifteen minutes. His tone was condescending and sickly sweet and, even worse, he pulled and abused evidence as needed. Cordelia felt the muscles in her legs tensing under the table as the men attacked Zoe and Madison again and again, becoming more vicious by the minute.

"Can I ask you why you visited one of the survivors in the hospital?" Detective Sanchez continued.

Cordelia saw the anger flash in Madison's eyes as she looked at the image the Detective was holding up for her, then up at Zoe.

"Um…I felt bad for him," Zoe stammered out. "We just met him the night before and he…seemed nice."

Madison looked to Cordelia nervously.

"He died right after you left," the Detective asserted. "The doctors can't uite figure out how, but when we checked you out we noticed another boy you knew died in the exact same way right before you got here. A boy named Charles Taylor."

Cordelia watched as the tears built up in Zoe's eyes. They had found her breaking point. She stood suddenly, the chair toppling over behind her.

"They gang raped her!" She screamed. "And they got what they deserved."

"How did you flip the bus, was it the wheels?"

Cordelia felt a cold sweat forming on her forehead. A student like Zoe who wouldn't be able to control herself in these situations was dangerous to the Coven and, even more than that, Cordelia herself. Queenie was blind and Nan was easy manipulated, but Zoe was altogether too soft.

"I—I have no idea what she's talking about, nobody raped me! She's clearly lost her mind!" Madison argued, but Cordelia could barely hear her over the thoughts raging through her head.

"Madison did it!" Zoe kept yelling. Cordelia stood in attempt to control the girl, but to no avail. "She can move things with her mind. And I killed that asshole in the hospital, I have powers too, we're witches!"

"I'm sorry, Detective," Cordelia interrupted her. "Zoe has clearly suffered some kind of mental break."

"No! No, enough lying, it's over! Everyone here is a witch, I'm so sorry, please don't send us to jail, please…"

Cordelia's head spun. All the nights, all the time she had spent dreaming of having Zoe instead of Madison came rushing back to her. If she had done anything, or even attempted it, everything would be over right now and she would be going to jail instead of the girls the detectives had come to question.

Zoe would never be able to keep the secret.

"Nobody's going to jail," a familiar voice broke through the chaos. "Girls, will you leave us, please?"

Cordelia had never been glad to see her mother before this moment. And as she told the men, "I'm Fiona Goode. I'm in charge everywhere," Cordelia could feel the power in the room shift from herself to her mother. It felt as though her entire world's rhythm and structure was overcome by the new arrivals at Robichaux's. Zoe was too soft, Fiona was too powerful, and her stakes were higher than ever.

—

Cordelia knelt over her potions chanting Latin to herself. She found herself falling into a trance, her mouth on autopilot as her mind wandered. She cursed her luck more than anything. Her body refused to bear children, her mother had begun to claim power within the Coven, and Hank was being as useless as usual. She was rummaging through her drawers absentmindedly when she heard someone step into the greenhouse.

"Think it's gonna work?" Hank asked suddenly.

Cordelia jumped in response to the sudden noise. "Jesus, Hank! You scared the shit out of me. You shouldn't even be in here."

"You okay, baby?" He mocked. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"It's all going to be alright, I just—I need to concentrate." She shooed him away before returning to her work. "Just give me twenty minutes, okay?"

Hank mumbled something to himself as he turned to leave. Cordelia slowly bent down to check her spell's progress, pushing her hand in between the leaves of an overgrown fern. Lying there in the soil was an egg.

It was ready.

Hank and Cordelia kneeled in the middle of a pentagram formed from ashes and soot. Cordelia led him through the ritual and, the further they went, the more engrossed she became with her husband. Hank was clueless as to what was happening. He followed her actions with his eyes carefully despite being slightly drunk and slightly confused, and Cordelia felt herself basking in his attention.

He truly was clueless. Not just about witches and rituals, not just about the Coven, but about everything. He was under Cordelia's thumb like everyone else. Trapped in her web. Though the Coven was dying and Madison was becoming more and more unresponsive by the day, Cordelia felt herself relaxing. And Hank was particularly useful. She hated him with her whole being but he was a perfect distraction to everybody else.

Fiona was too focused on her hatred of Hank to realize that Cordelia hated him just as much and to realize what her daughter was doing just under her nose. Zoe and Queenie would never suspect Cordelia because she was married. And Nan and Madison…well, they were special cases.

And as she heard the eggs crack open and the snakes slither towards her, she let these feelings out, let her rage and her love and her stress and her darkness come out and felt them reverberate through her Academy.

It was all hers.


	3. Chapter 3

Co-written with the one and only graceonce

Beta-ed by Ly Merrick and Foxxaye. Love you guys!

**Warnings stand.**

******Music: West Coast - Lana Del Rey  
**

_"You push it hard up all the way, I'm feeling hot and on fire, I guess that no one ever really made me feel I'm a child"_

******Music: Hollywood's Dead - Lana Del Rey  
**

_"Don't tell me it's over_  
_Don't tell me it's over_  
_Hollywood's dead_  
_Elvis is crying_  
_Lennon, wake up_  
_Cobain, stop lying there_  
_In the light you're sickeningly beautiful_  
_Say goodbye, you're sickeningly beautiful_  
_Say goodnight, you're so beautiful"_

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

Cordelia was upset. Whether it was at Madison for leaving her in her time of need or for not being able to conceive a child after all, she didn't know.

She'd found herself sitting in front of Marie Laveau and crying her heart out because it was _all __so fucking unfair_. She just wanted revenge. Why was that so hard? She wanted revenge on Fiona for coming back and she wanted revenge on Hank for screwing up so bad and on the coven and on _fucking_ Madison for locking her door that night she came back from the party, when she needed her.

"She messed with the wrong witch and she knows it. Now you know it, too."

Marie's voice swam in her head as she drove back to the academy, quickly and recklessly and with tears falling down her face. The girls didn't ask what was wrong as she came in and slammed the door behind her, headed upstairs, where she knew Madison was, probably drinking.

The girl's door was unlocked and she walked in boldly, remembering in the back of her head that Zoe was downstairs, playing chess with Nan. And there was Madison, clutching a bottle of vodka to her chest and tears streaming down her own pale face. She barely registered Cordelia coming in, and looked up slowly, hazel eyes blurred over.

She'd recently taken a shower from the look of her hair and from the scent of vanilla encircling her like a cloud, but Cordelia didn't pause to enjoy it.

"Where were you this morning?" She hissed. "You said you'd be awake for me."

Suddenly, there was something else behind the vanilla. It smelled like body spray, one that no one in the house wore and the headmistress began seeing red as she glossed her eyes over the girl. Her hair was singed at the ends and Cordelia stuttered over her own words, forgetting to bitterly ask how the party went.

The firefighters. The firefighters were just over at the neighbor's, at Joan's, house. Her curtains had caught on fire and Nan had avoided Cordelia's gaze as she'd come in minutes before, even though she usually stared unabashedly.

"Luke." Cordelia stammered out, grabbing onto the desk to steady herself. "Luke Ramsey." She breathed out. "Oh my god."

Madison's eyes were unnaturally clear as she looked up at her headmistress. "I'm sorry I didn't know what else to do I'm so sorry-" She began to sob, her body wrenched in gasps as the tears streamed down her face.

Cordelia stared at her, her heart dropping lower and lower until it had nowhere else to go. "What did you do?" She took a step forward and leaned down to be level with her student. "Madison. What the _fuck _did you do?"

It was hard to understand the young witch over her gasps. "I didn't know what else to do Cordelia they hurt me and I wanted to feel something and that bitch next door-" Her words were coming out in torrents now. "They hurt me Cordelia they hurt me-"

"Who hurt you?"

"The bus I flipped over the bus they were on the bus-"

Cordelia's fingers became cold. Zoe had mentioned this earlier in her office but Fiona had taken her girls away before she could ask what truly happened. She'd been so worried about Zoe and the implications of starting anything with the girl that'd she'd forgotten to listen.

"What the hell happened?"

Madison looked up, grief-stricken. "Weren't you listening to that blonde bitch?" She stood up suddenly and got into Cordelia's face, her fingers grasping at the front of the headmistress's shirt. "They took me Cordelia they drugged me and they took me-"

Cordelia pushed the girl off. "You let them drug you?"

"I didn't, I didn't mean to."

"I told you the party wasn't a good idea."

"I'm sorry!" Madison pawed at Delia, standing up from her spot on the bed.

"Don't touch me." Cordelia hissed, backing up against the door. She watched the actress cry harder and sit down on the floor, hugging her knees to herself, repeating that she was sorry.

"I shouldn't have trusted you." The headmistress added bitterly, shaking her head.

Madison crawled to her, arms wrapping around her knees. "Don't say that please don't say that I'm so sorry." She looked up, hazel eyes brimming with tears. "Please love me again.

"Why should I?" Cordelia asked quietly. "You go out and get in trouble, like I said you would. I warned you and you didn't listen. And then you come home and the first thing you can think of doing," She pauses to point at the bottle sitting on Madison's pillow. "Is get drunk and go flirt with the boy next door?"

Madison was hiccuping so badly that she couldn't answer the taller blonde. She looked away, angry at herself for not being able to respond, but her grasp tightened around Cordelia's legs, fear in her eyes.

"Let go of me. I don't want you to touch me."

"No don't say that please-"

"Madison. Let. Go."

It took a few seconds for the young witch to follow Cordelia's orders, but she did so, painfully as it was. She began crying again. "I didn't want Luke I swear to you. I just wanted to feel something else than shame-"

"You know what felt like shame?" Cordelia snapped down at her. "Coming home from the doctor's, with no one to share my grief with. Coming home from Marie Laveau's, with no one to hold me. Because someone was at a fucking party the other night and couldn't keep it together." She added coldly. "And if you're pregnant?" She left her sentence there, the threat in her words enough to send a shiver down Madison's back. She had stopped the tears from flowing, but she began to shake violently.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, staring off into a corner of the room, sitting pitifully on the floor.

"I'm sure you are." The headmistress scoffed, cocking her head to the side. Madison was vulnerable, broken.

The older blonde kneeled down next to the actress and beckoned her over. Madison practically leapt into her arms, and she burrowed her head into the crook of Cordelia's neck, fingers clawing at her arms for support. She made no sound, but Cordelia could feel hot tears running down her skin.

"You need to listen to me, Madison." She whispered into her hair. "Because I'm the only one who cares about you and I'm the only one who knows what's good for you." Madison nodded, hearing the truth in her headmistress's sweet words. "Look at me."

The witch backed up and looked into Cordelia's dark eyes, wiping at her nose.

"Never disobey me again."

"I won't. I swear to you."

Cordelia brought their lips together in a sweet kiss, her tongue enjoying cheap alcohol and warm tears.

Madison's voice came out in a whisper. "I love you."

"I know you do."


	4. Chapter 4

Co-written with the amazing graceonce

Beta-ed by Ly Merrick and Foxxaye.

**Rated M. Warnings still apply.**

**Music: Love is Blindness, by Jack White  
**

_"A little death / without warning / no call / no warning / Baby, a dangerous idea… / Almost makes…sense"_

**—**

Cordelia tossed and turned. She wanted so badly to forget the feeling of Hank, the feeling of that ritual, the feeling of snakes against her skin. Even worse than all that was the realization that Hank getting re-attached to her after so long without having to interact with him. It was all because of that damn baby. What was the use of having a baby to keep Hank in line if all she needed to do was exchange a few words with him?

What Cordelia wanted was Madison. She would never betray or insult Cordelia like Hank did when he was drunk, or act like a child when he was denied funds from the Coven's bank account. She was always so good about listening to Cordelia and doing what she was told. She allowed Cordelia to have full control.

And after Fiona and Zoe showed up and threatened her position of power in the Academy and the Coven, that was exactly what she needed.

Suddenly, the door flew open.

_Please, _Cordelia begged. _Please be Madison, please…_

"Get up," a voice commanded. "Cordelia, get up. I need your help."

Cordelia looked at her clock. "Jesus, Fiona, it's 2:30am. I'm not getting up."

"It's one of your girls."

Cordelia's heart began to beat faster and her chant resumed: _Please be Madison, please be Madison…_

She followed Fiona to a room down the hall and saw Queenie laying in bed. The girl was covered in sweat and blood, her breathing heavy and erratic as if she had just sobbed for hours.

"My God, what happened?"

"The girl was attacked near to death while you slept."

"By who?" Cordelia reached for the first aid kit stashed in the drawer of each nightstand.

"Not who. By what," Fiona corrected her. "Some minion of hell or another."

Her eyes were following Cordelia's hands as she worked, flicking between the potion she had begun with materials found in the kit and her daughter's arms. Cordelia hated that look. She would get it every morning as a kid when she got dressed for school: Fiona's eyes would pass from her head to her feet a few times and she would look away in disgust.

"Summoned by who? Not one of our girls?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh, Christ, our girls couldn't pull a rabbit out of a hat," Fiona snapped. "This was dark art voodoo, flat out."

_Shit. _"Marie Laveau," Cordelia mumbled to herself.

"No doubt."

"This is your fault. You went to see her," Cordelia spat back at her mother. "You deliberately provoked her."

"How would you know that?" Fiona asked. The usual venom was back in her tone.

"Because she told me," Cordelia retorted before she could stop herself. The second it left her mouth, she wished she could take it back. But the look her mother was giving her made her _so angry_, her mouth was pretty much on autopilot.

"Christ, Delia! Is that where you were sneaking off to this afternoon?" Fiona accused her. "To the voodoos for a half-assed fertility spell? Her Pochaut Medecine? How much did she take you for?"

"Nothing," Cordelia deadpanned. "Thanks to you, I left there with nothing."

"Yeah, not even your dignity."

Cordelia hated when Fiona got into these moods. They always started with questions or accusations and escalated into verbal abuse. The worst part is, she could never predict or prevent it. The only thing she could do was respond calmly to Fiona as she lectured her on the importance of showing their strength to the voodoo tribe as she applied medicine to Queenie's neck to ease some of her pain.

But as her hand passed over Queenie's nose, her heart lurched into her throat.

"Mother?" Cordelia interrupted Fiona's lecture. "She's not breathing."

"Move."

Fiona leaned over Queenie as she breathed life into the girl. Cordelia rolled her eyes as she watched. She had never seen anyone brought back to life out of spite before.

"I got a heartbeat," Cordelia announced. "But maybe we should get her to a hospital."

"No, that is out of the question. From now on, we handle everything internally. The last thing you want is to have the Council show up on your doorstep and question your competence."

Cordelia got up to leave the room without a word. _Cordelia's_ incompetence? Her mother was as clueless as Hank. The Council was the least of her worries at this point.

Cordelia shivered as she got back into her cold, empty bed.

—-

Cordelia adjusted her robe as she walked down the hallway towards the kitchen. Queenie's words echoed through her head: _Am I dead?_

Something about the word made everything real. The fact that Madison could be dead, the fact that Hank could have been the one to kill her, the fact that after all these years, she could just be gone.

Cordelia hated death. As a child, she used to watch her mother command it like a puppet on a string. When she got too angry or too violent and one of the men she brought home ended up dead, she would simply lean over them and bring them back. Of course, when Cordelia's puppy got hit by a truck the summer before second grade, Fiona didn't bother. And that was the part that bothered Cordelia the most. Realizing that she didn't have any of the power. It was all in Fiona's hands.

_Not anymore__,_ she told herself. The words raced desperately through her head._This is your Coven, Cordelia. It's yours, it's not hers anymore._

"They're here," a voice broke through her thoughts.

"The girls?"

"Not the girls," Nan warned. She gestured into the meeting room.

Cordelia's heart raced as she turned the corner and saw none other than the Council.

"Wow," she breathed. "I had no idea the Council would be joining us today."

Myrtle gave her an apologetic look. Cordelia reached forward and pulled her closer. "How screwed am I?"

"Mm, just breathe," Myrtle whispered before backing away. "Council on Witchcraft assembles only under the gravest circumstances."

"And who doesn't love a surprise?" Quentin joked.

Myrtle was being unusually cryptic. Normally before the Council appeared she would send at least a jumbled text as they commuted to the Academy, but this time, nothing.

Myrtle had always tried to protect her, from the time Fiona dropped her off at the Academy crying and disheveled to the time Myrtle walked in on Cordelia with one of her students. Myrtle had forgotten to knock and, upon seeing the only woman she trusted in the doorway, Cordelia had broken down and laid on top of the girl sobbing and sobbing before she realized the girl was no longer breathing. She was so young and so frail and Cordelia hadn't noticed anything was wrong. She had run to Myrtle's room, tears still running down her face, and begged for help. It was years ago now, but she could still remember exactly what Myrtle said:

"I am not Fiona. I am your true mother and I am here to help however I can."

Myrtle proved to be a valuable ally that night. Cordelia woke up to the smell of bleach and acid and a small nod from Myrtle, and that was when she knew that Myrtle was in too deep to turn back. That she was there to defend Cordelia.

But today, she was left hanging.

"I can guess why you're here," she started, watching the Council's reactions closely. Nothing yet. "Last night's assault on Queenie was a horrific tragedy, but I can assure you she is resting comfortably."

"Assault?" Myrtle asked. "Elaborate, elucidate."

_Shit, shit, shit. _Cordelia's stomach dropped at Myrtle's comment. She had guessed wrong.

"I didn't see it myself, but…" Cordelia trailed off. Her eyes pleaded for help from Myrtle.

"By who?" Myrtle asked.

"Well, what, actually," Cordelia continued. "Something not altogether human.

She shot a look at Myrtle. _Drop it,_ she screamed inside her head. _Just drop it!_

"You should have alerted us at once," Pembroke chimed in.

"I was going to, I just…" Cordelia saw Myrtle elbow Pembroke to quiet her and Cordelia breathed a sigh of relief. Myrtle at least knew where to draw the line. "Yes."

"That's not why we're here," Myrtle continued. "Something far more grave has come to our attention."

Cordelia nearly started to cry. If this was the day the Council had found out about Madison and the others, the one day she was busy with Queenie and not paying attention, not prepared…

"I should have never gone over there," Cordelia scrambled to guess something, anything else. At the very least it could distract them while she tried to think of excuses and explanations for what happened all those nights. "I…I don't know what I was thinking."

As the Council watched her, Myrtle looking just as confused as the others, Cordelia could practically feel herself digging her way into an even deeper hole.

"You might as well know," she sighed. "I went to go see Marie Laveau. But it was never my intention to violate the truce."

Myrtle shook her head. It was barely enough movement for Cordelia to notice, but the warning in Myrtle's widened eyes was enough to shut her up.

"I see," Myrtle said quietly. "Well, perhaps we should all sit down."

"Don't get too comfortable," Fiona's voice boomed through the room.

This was the second time in her life Cordelia was happy to see her mother. She bristled with hatred for both Fiona and for the respect she felt cropping up as she watched her take control of the situation and flatter the members of the Council one by one.

"So what have you old hens come to cluck about?" Fiona finished.

"One of your students summoned us," Myrtle answered.

"Which one?"

Nan stepped into the room. "Me."

Cordelia fought the urge to vomit as her breathing quickened. Had Nan really turned against her like this? Now? She gave Nan the dirtiest look she could manage through her anxiety, but it didn't stop her from continuing to speak.

"I can't hear her anymore. Madison? I think she's dead."

Cordelia looked over to Myrtle, who gave her a small, comforting nod.

"W-well, why didn't you say so, Nan?" Cordelia stuttered out over the waves of relief washing over her.

"Oh, Delia," Myrtle interrupted. Cordelia knew immediately to stop talking and let Myrtle take control. "Don't shame the girl. Now, shall we discuss this over dinner?"

—

Cordelia felt her eyes shift out of focus as she stared down into the meat braising on the stove. Her thoughts ran wild through her brain, thoughts of panic and fear, plans for manipulation, and all the words she would plan to say in front of the girls and the Council. Anything to keep up the charade.

She pushed the meat around in the oil with a wooden spoon absentmindedly.

Was Nan right about Madison being dead? Madison was known to leave for days on end. That was normal. What put Cordelia on edge was the fact that during normal outings, she would keep in constant contact with her. Whether it was out of love or fear Cordelia could never tell, but nevertheless it was rare that they would go a few hours without talking or texting or calling. This time around, Cordelia had to send a few "_Where are you?_"s to Madison, which normally would illicit a response within minutes. This time…nothing. And with every hour that passed without a message or a text from Madison, Cordelia could feel the tension in her shoulders building and her hands shaking more and more.

Suddenly, Cordelia felt her skin burning as a few drops of oil jumped off of the pan and onto her arm.

"Shit!" She gasped, jumping backwards. She ran to the sink to run cold water over her arm.

"Thank God," she heard a voice mumble from the doorway. "You should get burned more often. Maybe I'd get a little more quiet time around here."

Cordelia turned to see Nan glaring at her. "H-How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," Nan sighed. "You might as well stop playing dumb inside that messed-up head of yours. I know what happened to Madison."

Cordelia was taken aback. In the time she had been at Robicheaux's, Nan had never stood up to her like this. In fact, they barely interacted at all.

"And what's that?"

"You got rid of her," Nan said simply. "You thought she was too unpredictable, so you got rid of her."

"You know I wouldn't do that!" Cordelia argued, slamming the sink off with her fist. "You know I wouldn't!"

Nan stood her ground, staring into Cordelia's eyes, shoulders raising in an almost undetectable shrug.

"No, I don't know that," Nan continued. "I mean, I 'knew' when I got here that you weren't a pedophile. But I couldn't have been more wrong."

Cordelia felt a chill run down her spine. She _hated _that word. She hated it down to its Latin roots, translated roughly into "child" and "friendly love." It was patronizing and disturbing from those beginnings to the way newscasters would spit the word at their audience as if they were ashamed just to read it off the teleprompter. Cordelia tried to tell herself she was different, that it didn't apply, but it would still haunt her as she crawled into Madison's bed in the middle of the night. Besides, she wasn't _that_ young.

"I told you not to call me that."

"But it fits you so well," Nan mocked. Cordelia screamed internally, trying to push the girl from her mind, using every technique she thought she had picked up to keep the clairvoyant out of her head.

"Listen to me," Cordelia whispered through gritted teeth, working her way towards Nan as her mind worked triple time to expel her from inside. "I don't know what you were thinking when you called the Council. They aren't going to save you. They're not going to listen to a word you have to say. In fact, they're not even giving you the time for an interview. You know why?"

Nan didn't risk another word or even another movement.

"Because Myrtle is on my side. She knows everything. She gave me this position as headmistress, Nan." The side of Cordelia's mouth curled up into a smirk as tears sprung into Nan's eyes. "You're walking a fine line. And trust me, if you move even a centimeter too far, I can guarantee you will never be able to find a home for yourself not only here, but in all of Louisiana."

Nan trembled as Cordelia jutted a finger into her chest.

"Are we clear?"

"Please don't touch me, Cordelia," Nan whispered.

"Are we clear?" Cordelia repeated.

"Yes, Cordelia."

"Thank you," Cordelia finished, turning back to the meat on the stove. "And it's Miss Cordelia."

—-

Cordelia stepped out from the darkness, shaking her head at Myrtle, the red headed woman shaking in anger. "You're wrong." Snow's ice blue eyes met hers, surprised.

"You think my mother killed Madison Montgomery so she could remain the Supreme?" The headmistress breathed out.

"Yes! You're blind to the ways of your mother, chicky! You always have been!"

Cordelia's dark eyes were fixed on the council member. _Not as blind as she is to me, Myrtle. Not as blind as she is to me._

"Madison wasn't the next Supreme."

Realization dawned on Myrtle's face, something that no one else in the room saw, a look shared only between Cordelia and her mentor. Myrtle could easily read between the lines. Madison wasn't the next Supreme, and even if she was, Cordelia would have made sure she wasn't. She wanted her for herself, and her taking power meant a bigger ego, a tendency to leave in the middle of the night and finally, she'd leave Cordelia. And she couldn't have that.

"The hallmark of any rising Supreme is glowing, radiant health." Cordelia continued, louder this time.

"Madison had a heart murmur." _A heart murmur I listened to intently during the night as I lay on her chest, drinking her in__._ "She kept it monitored, she kept it secret." _Whatever you may think, I'm not responsible for it. Though I can't say I've helped__._ "So I'm sorry, Myrtle. For forty years, you've been barking up the wrong tree."

Cordelia paused, drinking in the council's reaction. "My mother is the Supreme for a reason." _And that sole reason is, Madison is mine. And you'd better find her quickly before she fucks up._

—

Fiona had been avoiding Cordelia all night. Usually it was the other way around, since Cordelia still had the bad habit of ducking out of whatever room her mother appeared in. But tonight something was off, and wherever Cordelia was, Fiona wasn't.

At first, it was enjoyable. Cordelia didn't have to deal with her mother's judgmental looks or her snappy moods, especially since Fiona had started drinking already and whiskey tended to make her critical. But slowly, Cordelia found herself assuming the worst: Fiona had found out. She knew. And she was utterly disgusted by her daughter.

_Great, _Cordelia thought bitterly. _One more thing for her to use against me._

Cordelia spent hours considering her next move. Should she approach Fiona about it? Should she try to disprove it? What does this mean for her and Madison? And where the_ hell_ was Madison? She thought about it through the night and as she crawled into her empty bed, exhausted and promising herself she would make a decision later.

Until the light flicked on.

"Get up, Delia," Fiona's voice rasped. "We're going out."

—

"Let's get you a proper drink," Fiona laughed. "Bartender, bring this lady a Makers neat."

"You'll make a bad girl of me yet," Cordelia joked, allowing a smile to spread across her face. She watched her mother carefully for a reaction, for something to indicate what she did or didn't know, but Fiona's facial expression betrayed nothing. The same drunken smirk was still plastered across her face.

_Why did you bring me out here, Fiona? Give me something, anything._

Fiona raised her eyebrows as she took another sip of her drink. No laughter.

"Well, Christ knows, somebody's got to, darling."

Cordelia's face fell.

_Oh my God. Oh my God, she doesn't know anything._

The headmistress choked back laughter, deep, mocking guffaws that would show Fiona just how little she held over Cordelia. Just how willing she was to stay in the dark. For God's sake, her room was right next to Madison's.

Fiona eyed Cordelia carefully as the bartender came around and set Cordelia's drink on the bar in front of her. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Cordelia said, raising her glass to the poor, ignorant woman in front of her. "Here, cheers."

Tonight could prove to be fun after all.

—

Cordelia had gotten a few more drinks into Fiona by the time Fiona was willing to engage in any type of friendly conversation. It was as if they were both at that bar to interrogate the other, especially after what happened with Myrtle and with the threat of burning Fiona at the stake during the trial earlier. And if she was honest, Cordelia was fine with that. It was more fun for her anyway.

"What?" Fiona suddenly asked.

Cordelia realized that she was staring at her mother. Something inside of her had been laughing internally the entire night, just mocking her endlessly, celebrating each minute Fiona remained clueless.

And that something inside of her forced the sides of her mouth up into a smirk as she realized she had Fiona in the palm of her hand. She knew how to determine exactly how much Fiona knew about what she was doing.

"Let's play a game," Cordelia proposed. "We each ask each other three questions, and we swear to answer them honestly."

"Is your seat belt fastened?" Fiona asked.

_Is yours? _"Nice and tight."

"Why do you hate Hank?" Cordelia began. "Are you attracted to him?"

Cordelia had to force down another bout of laughter, this time at herself. _As if anybody could be attracted to that excuse for a man._

"Ugh! Because, Delia, he reeks of bullshit," Fiona spat. "And I don't understand how you cannot see that."

_Oh honey, if only you knew what I've seen, knew about all the girls we've exchanged over the years. You don't know a thing about Hank and I._

Satisfied with Fiona's answer, Cordelia continued. "Number two. And no lying."

Fiona nodded.

"Did you kill Madison?"

"No, I did not kill Madison," Fiona asserted.

Cordelia quickly realized she had wasted a question. Of course her mother would say that. Not because she was innocent, but because no matter how drunk she got, she could pull off a convincing lie.

Fiona interrupted her thoughts. "My turn. Who do you believe is the next Supreme?"

Alarm bells went off in Cordelia's mind. _No, you're not going to get out of this._"No, no, no, no, no! It's still my turn!"

"Yeah?" Fiona chuckled. "Well, your questions are boring. So answer my question. Who do you think is my replacement?

Cordelia had to stop herself from falling to the ground and thanking whatever higher power made Fiona this blind. "You're obsessed, aren't you?" _Obsessed enough to be unable to think about anything else, obsessed enough to ignore what's happening within the walls of the Academy you're supposed to be protecting as the Supreme. _"Why? Do you feel your powers weakening?"

Fiona raised an eyebrow at Cordelia, a warning look. A look that told her to shut up. And in that moment, Cordelia realized that Fiona wasn't anything to be afraid of. The looks she had trained Cordelia to be afraid of as a child were all she had now. Getting older had changed her. She had become impossibly more power hungry, more self-absorbed, more self-centered than ever.

And that's what would be her downfall.

Cordelia found herself celebrating for the rest of the night. She was a fool to have ever believed that Fiona was smart enough to detect something was wrong, much less avoid Cordelia because of it. Drink after drink, she kept downing them and allowing herself to laugh at her mother's stories and even her criticisms.


	5. Chapter 5

Co-written with the ever awesome graceonce

Beta-ed by Ly Merrick and foxxaye

**Rated M, it's a softer chapter, but the warnings apply**

**Music: Jar of Hearts, by Christina Perri**

_I hear you're asking all around / __If I am anywhere to be found / __But I have grown too strong / __To ever fall back in your arms_

_And it took so long just to feel alright / __Remember how to put back the light in my eyes / __I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed / __'Cause you broke all your promises_

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

It hurt. God did it hurt. The pain was atrocious as she stumbled out of the bathroom, screaming and clawing at her face. Her eyes. She couldn't see where she was going. She couldn't feel anything but her eyes burning, her skin aching. It felt like a nuclear war had gone off against her face and the light behind her eyes was blindingly white, horribly dark.

She heard a scream above her own. _Fiona. Mother._

Two hands grabbed onto hers, yelling at her to let go, to remove her fingers but it hurt so much and if she let go wouldn't it hurt even more?

"Let me see, let me see!"

She was still keening and whimpering and gasping out but the pain running through her body was leaving her weak and Fiona managed to pry her fingers away.

She screamed once more before passing out.

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

Cordelia awoke slowly, but she couldn't move, much less talk. Her mind raced at a thousand miles a minute. What had happened? Why couldn't she remember? And why did her head hurt so damn much? Her memories were taking too long to properly come back. She could remember vodka. Or had it been tequila? Tequila, most likely. It was the only drink that could get her this smashed.

What was that infernal beeping besides her? And why were people talking about corneas and-

Oh god the pain behind her eyes. They itched and they burned so badly.

"-blind permanently."

_What?_

"The acid burned right through her optic nerves. She'll have one hell of a scar."

_No no no no don't say that-_

The beeping. It was a heart monitor. She was in a hospital room. She'd been burned by the hooded figure in the bathroom and now she was blind.

"This is her room, Mrs Goode."

_No not her._

All Cordelia could do now was listen. She could hear well. Incredibly well. She could hear Fiona's heels and she could hear the Supreme's breathing - had she been crying?- and she could hear that her movements had stilled.

The headmistress guessed that'd she'd paused to assess the damage. Her eyes hurt. She wanted to pick at them but she couldn't will her muscles to work. She couldn't imagine what they looked like. Actually, she couldn't imagine much. Apart from listening, it hurt too much to do anything else.

She felt vulnerable. A feeling she wasn't used to. A feeling she didn't want to get used to.

"Well look who finally showed up."

Cordelia's ear perked at her mother's sickly sweet voice. _Who-?_

"I've been driving all night from Lake Charles. It's a four hour drive, I don't have to defend myself to you. Why don't you go sleep it off? I'm here now."

Hank. _Oh god not Hank_. She felt the tension in the room rising and she was suddenly stifled by the heat the covers provided her. Fiona was a powder keg, Hank was her match.

"You can stop pretending you care about her." There was a little pause, followed by a bitter laugh. "Now, I may not have been the mother she needed me to be, but I can smell the bullshit in your pockets even if she can't. I begged her not to marry you. You're a loser, running around your whole life chasing after penny jobs, huh? You're one step up from the men who stand in front of Home Depot."

She was wrong. Hank did care about her. Kind of. He cared about her work, anyway. He cared about the girls she brought home.

"At least I come home to her." He comes home to an empty bed. He comes home to a bed taken over by Cordelia and her lover. "I've never just abandoned her." Her husband added.

Fiona's response was immediate, snarky. "'Cause you know she's the best you'll ever have." There was a smirk in her voice. "Thank Christ you couldn't knock her up. Can you imagine her with an infant now after you run off because you can't take the pressures of a blind wife? Permanently? Oh, boy, here come the crocodile tears."

"No, Fiona, no, you will not do this to us. She hates you. You hear that, you piece of shit? I love her and she knows it. You are the one that doesn't belong here. You are the one that needs to go away!"

_If you could both go away, that'd be just as nice_. Cordelia thought bitterly, willing her fingers to work, the sheets gritty underneath her fingernails.

There was another set of footsteps echoing through the room. "I don't care who it is, but one of you is leaving or I'm calling security."

_Please. Both. Take both. Call security, I'm begging is an apathetic murderer and the other is a psychopath. Save me from this hell._

Her mother stood and walked to the door, or what she guessed was the door. "You have 15 minutes with her, and then I'll be back and you will disappear. You can go on your own or my way, I don't care which."

She snapped. "Although I'd prefer the latter."

She heard Hank hiss after her mother and the door shut behind her, most likely with a flick of her wrist.

Cordelia wanted to scream. She wanted to yell and to hit something over and over and over.

Hank shuffled over to sit besides her, sitting in the chair her mother had just occupied, but she couldn't tell whether she was relieved at the change of the guard. Both choices were terrible. She wanted Madison. She wanted Zoe. Hell, she'd have taken Nan. At least she could have a real conversation.

"I'm here, baby."

_My hero._

"Can you feel me? I don't care what they did to you."

_I wish I couldn't._

_Wait. 'They?'_

He took a deep breath. "I told them not to. Delphi. They did this. Against my wishes. They think this will cripple the coven, even though we both know it won't."

He paused.

"I promise I'm never going away."

_Goddammit._

Her bed sheets moved as he settled in next to her, his elbows digging into the mattress. Suddenly he was murmuring empty excuses to her, his breath softly blowing over her ear. If she could have scoffed, she would have. His lies were just as good in dire times as they were normally. He didn't care about her. He cared about his supply of girls. His bucket list. His fuck list.

If she didn't have her eyes, her incredibly dark eyes, how could she will the younger witches to do what she told them to do?

"I love you so much."

His fingers scrambled to find hers in the sheets and he squeezed them tight between his own.

There was a searing pain behind her eyes, sharp and red and she couldn't breathe anymore and she was gasping for air. Her eyes snapped open, her marred skin cracking again and beginning to bleed at the sudden jolt.

Red and fire and red. Her husband's face, his pure look of ecstasy and red. Kaylee.

She didn't know if her lungs were letting her scream.


	6. Chapter 6

Co-written with the amazing, amazing graceonce

Beta-ed by Ly Merrick and Foxxaye

**Rated M for content.**

**Music: Bad Moon Rising by Mourning Ritual  
**

_I hear the voice of rage and ruin / Don't go around tonight / Well, it's bound to take your life / There's a bad moon on the rise._

**—**

_Fire red. Fire truck. Fuck. Oh she's pretty._

Cordelia didn't know where the random thought of Kaylee came from as she stared, blinded, at a spot on what she guessed was the wall.

Or maybe she did know.

Everytime Hank touched her, touched the air around her, the young redhead popped into her mind, vibrant and beautiful and _alive__._ She felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of her husband killing her in cold blood.

The girl was supposed to be hers. She'd called her. She'd called dibs and the bastard had taken her and murdered her before she could lay a finger on her ivory skin.

She thought back to their first meeting, to her string of thoughts that led from the color red to wanting to take the girl against her desk. Against a wall. To take her and make her completely hers, no question in either of their minds on who ran the relationship. A pyrokinetic could always come in handy.

Kaylee had said no. To the school or to her subtle advances, Cordelia hadn't been sure, maybe both. The younger witch was intent on finding a man and staying the dutiful wife. The headmistress had been disappointed, albeit momentarily. A no was a no until it was a yes.

As she'd led Kaylee out, she'd met Hank's gaze as he sat in the darkness, watching them both. He'd listened in, like he always did when she drafted, or attempted to draft, new students. She'd shaken her head at him, and he'd answered with a scowl. _This one is mine__._ Obviously, he hadn't remembered.

What had kept her from acting out right away though, from taking Kaylee's hand in hers and whispering sweet nothings and empty promises into the girl's ear, wasn't Hank. It had been the clairvoyant watching from the salon. She'd heard Cordelia. Maybe. The headmistress was never sure. Their eyes had met, Nan had turned away, and Cordelia had let Kaylee go.

The clairvoyant had been too much of a liability, a risk. She still was. Cordelia had figured that she'd hunt Kaylee down later.

But she'd been too late. The clairvoyant's indiscretions had led to the death of a witch.

It had led to Kaylee's death.

Did she have the right to blame Nan?

Yes she did.

—

Cordelia's cane swung loosely in her hand as she inched her way up the stairs. She slid her foot across one of the large steps to feel where the next one began and lifted her leg carefully, slowly. Hank's hand hovered near her waist. He'd refused to leave her side ever since they let her leave the hospital.

"I got you, baby, okay?" He whispered, his hot breath sending a shiver through her body.

"Don't fucking touch me."

Cordelia had heard stories of people whose senses heightened after they had gone blind, but she had never expected anything like this. With nothing to see, she felt herself focusing in on everything else around her. And it was driving her _insane_. She could hear the doctors mumbling under their breath about how hopeless her case was, feel how clean her bedsheets were just by brushing her fingertips over their surface, feel the dryness and the aching of her eyes increase the minute her painkillers wore off, and, though she thought it was impossible after what she saw with Kaylee, the sensation of Hank's breath on her neck made her feel more like gagging than usual.

Fiona's voice drifted from underneath Cordelia's door to her place on the stairs. Her stomach dropped. With Hank behind her and Fiona in front, she was cornered. She had no other choice but to get to her room and hope that the two would leave her alone to rest for a while.

"She made it up the stairs all by herself," Hank told Fiona as they entered the room.

"Of course she did. She's tough. She's a survivor," Fiona interrupted.

Cordelia rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. Or at least she attempted to before searing pain and dry, scarred skin that felt as though it was being stretched too far stopped her. "_She's_ right here."

The smell of flowers suddenly invaded her nose. A sweet, heady smell, but at the same time as fresh as new sheets on her hospital bed. Roses. The kind Hank used to buy for her after a big fight. He used to show up on her doorstep, slightly drunk, ready to shove the bouquet into her arms.

No matter how much she loved plants, they always ended up on the ground or in the garbage disposal.

"Why are there roses in here?" She demanded. She heard Hank close the door behind her and reached up to remove the gaudy sunglasses that Fiona had forced her to wear while in public. _Come on, Delia_, she had said. _You really want people looking at that?_

"Why, I thought you might enjoy them. They're the very last of your heirlooms," Fiona explained.

"Roses pull in love and romance," Cordelia spat. Fiona was fucking clueless, as usual. "That's not what I'm looking for right now. I need chrysanthemums. All kinds of them, for strength and protection."

Cordelia could feel the tension in the room build. She knew her mother well enough to know she was giving Cordelia a warning look, one that told her not to question the Supreme's authority. For the first time, Cordelia found herself thanking her lucky stars she was blind.

Hank quickly came up behind her in an attempt to break the silence and the tension. "Well, doctor said bed rest for a week, huh?"

As Hank's hand closed around her arm, Cordelia felt pain surge through her body again. The same flashes of red, flashes of ecstasy and anger and vengeance as Hank took Kaylee away from her, crossing another girl off of his fuck list. It wasn't right. It just _wasn't right_. She was supposed to belong to Cordelia, not to the sad excuse for a human being that she called her husband.

Cordelia tensed as adrenaline rushed through her body. _How dare he? _A voice inside her screamed, over and over, over and over, _how dare he? _Her muscles began to shake as she felt her mind switch into autopilot and words spill out of her mouth.

"Enough bullshit! Anything else you want to tell me now?" She yelled into the darkness. "Because I _will _see it sooner or later!"

Tears formed in her eyes and dropped down her face before she could reach up and stop them and the salt burned her scars and the skin healing around her eyes. There was no response from the void around her, no facial expressions to pick up on, no movement, no nothing. The only thing her mind could make her body do was keep crying.

"I had to go blind to see things I couldn't see before. A bad cosmic joke," she murmured as she fought her way over to a chair. "It's a different kind of clarity…an absolute clarity I've never had. The images almost…vibrate with light."

Fiona scoffed. "Thank Christ she's finally got your number."

"She's high as a kite, do you know what they gave her before we left the hospital?" Hank responded quickly.

"I'm high all right, but it's not the drugs," Cordelia warned. First Nan acted out and now it was Hank. The Coven as a whole seemed to think that they had control over Cordelia. But they couldn't be more wrong. "You will be held accountable for every single betrayal, no matter how deep you think your secrets are buried. Now get out of here."

Cordelia lashed out with her cane, feeling the satisfying contact of metal against Hank's shins. "Get out!"

"Baby…" he begged. "You're my…you're my heart!"

Cordelia heard the door slam open and knock against the wall.

"I'd get out while you still can, Jug Head," her mother hissed.

Hank obeyed and Cordelia could hear his quickened footsteps as he rushed down the stairs.

"I wanted to sever his arms and throw him out the window," Cordelia grumbled. "I had to stop myself."

"You've been given the Sight," Fiona explained. "It's the greatest gift to have…and the hardest one to live with."

Cordelia sighed as she tried to remove her shirt. She hated how sickly sweet her mother's tone was. Cordelia had learned at a young age that when Fiona was nice, it was because she wanted something or knew that you no longer had anything to hold against her, that you were worthless and easily manipulated. She saw it as men stumbled out of Fiona's bedroom and as cops were shooed away by her use of Concilium.

The only thing she could hear out of Fiona's mouth was _You poor dear, you're worthless. _Over and over. Over and over.

"Let me help, honey." Fiona reached out to help Cordelia with her shirt and Cordelia recoiled at her touch.

Suddenly, her vision was overcome with visions of Myrtle tied to a stake, doused in kerosene, and screaming as she was burned alive. The vision tore through the scars around her eyes. Searing pain cut through her entire head, triggering another migraine that not even the doctors at the hospital could help ease. Cordelia screamed as she reached out for anything nearby that wasn't Fiona.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She cried as the vision subsided.

"What? What?" Fiona scrambled to reply. "What did you see?"

"Auntie Myrtle," Cordelia managed to choke out.

"I wanted to tell you, Delia, but you were in so much pain and I didn't want to add to it," Fiona continued to speak quickly and shakily.

"Burned at the stake."

"For what she did to you, yes."

_For what she did to me? Bullshit. It's what she did to you._

Cordelia's rage burned hotter than fire. Fiona's fucking cat and mouse game with Myrtle had been going for forty years and had never led to anything this drastic. Before it had all been psychological warfare and blackmail. But now that her mother was here and indulging in her usual selfish activities, her greatest ally was dead. She had no buffer, no protection from the Council anymore.

She was on her own.

—

Cordelia stumbled into her dark bedroom. The only thought on her mind was getting to her painkillers. She had stayed in her office all day, cradling her head in her hands and rubbing her temples to ease some of her pain. It had only escalated since she had been discharged from the hospital and Cordelia found herself blinking back tears as her scars and her eyelids and even her goddamn_retinas _burned.

Finally, the few hours required between pills had passed and she was determined to take at least a few to ease her torment before she laid down and tried to get some rest for the night.

Cordelia sat on her bed and pawed at the air around her right side until her hand came into contact with her nightstand. She pulled the nearly-empty pill bottle from the drawer and emptied its contents into her hand. A few pills clattered onto the floor, but Cordelia barely moved in reaction. They were so small it seemed worthless to even try and find them. As she clasped a few pills in her fist, her free hand trembled, reaching around in the dark for her water. Her fingers came into contact with the liquid and she tossed the pills into her mouth and swallowed. Cordelia internally begged the pills to set in quickly as she stood and removed her robe. The day had felt so long, and for the first time in a long time, she didn't want Madison. She just wanted to sleep.

She froze as heavy footsteps sounded on the other side of the room.

Cordelia nervously dropped her robe and looked around herself into the void. Nothing. No one. Except—

A few feet away, a glowing figure stood staring at the wall.

"Who are you?" Cordelia called. "What do you want?"

"Release," the figure droned.

Cordelia shuddered. She had seen her share of ghosts, being the daughter of the Supreme and being involved in the world of witchcraft for her entire life, but this one emanated anger and vengeance more than anything she'd seen or felt before.

"I can't do that," she breathed.

"Don't think so, dirty pussy cat?" The figure turned to look at her. His face was hauntingly familiar. _Where _had she seen it before? Her mind began to race. "Goddamn witches."

"They ended me once right here in this very room," he continued. "And for years after, the parties and the music and the dancing raged wild outside while I sat trapped inside these four ugly walls."

Cordelia's mind jumped to her knowledge of the Academy. Who was murdered here? In her very bedroom? A chill crawled across her scalp and down her spine as she realized she had been sharing a room with this entity.

"Now, last night, this sweet young witch comes along and offers me my release, and I said, 'Oh, yes, ma'am, yes, please. What do you need?' She asks her favor, and I provide."

Suddenly, it dawned on her. The Axeman. Killed in the Academy in 1922. Stabbed to death…right in this very room.

"The thing is, when the time comes for her to ante up, bitch lies, leaving me betwixt, between and ready to pop."

_Shit. _Cordelia backed up against her wall as she began to shake. Nothing was more dangerous than an angry ghost. Especially when said ghost was a serial killer before being murdered.

"You died…" Cordelia stammered out. "And now you're trapped."

The Axeman advanced towards her. "Right here with you."

Cordelia squinted at the light refracting off of the Axeman's frame as he came closer and closer. Instead of body heat, cold vibrated off of him and onto Cordelia's bare skin.

She searched desperately for the right words to attempt to manipulate him. "The only way I can help you is if you let me out of here."

"No," the Axeman growled. "Nobody leaves this room. You see, I had a contract. Promises were made, and all you've got to do is sing and dance and call the witches who owe me my freedom." He brandished his axe, letting it hover inches away from Cordelia's body. She quickly realized that though his physical form was trapped, his axe was still useful and all too real. "And I'll provide the music."

Cordelia let out a screamed that burned and tore at her throat. She could hear hands banging at the door and the door handle jiggling within thirty seconds, but it refused to open.

"Cordelia?!" Zoe called.

Cordelia kept screaming. The girls were so fucking incompetent, they were most likely going to leave her to die. Not to mention Nan would throw them off as much as she could. But despite the immediate danger, Cordelia felt her thoughts drifting towards Zoe, the way her name sounded in her voice. Madison had been missing for days on end and though Zoe was weak, she was still appealing, especially after feeling so alone for so long…

"Jesus Christ, woman, do you ever stop?" The Axeman screamed. He threw his axe into the floorboards and grabbed Cordelia by the throat. "I know what you do!"

Cordelia looked up at the Axeman with teary eyes as he pushed her up against the wall. She could feel her throat being constricted by his hands, feel her skin freezing around the chill of his skin. The inflamed blood vessels in her eyes and face began to throb as blood and air was completely blocked from flowing through her body.

"I saw what you did to those girls. _All_ those girls!" His hands closed around her neck even tighter. "Especially that—that Madison!"

He released Cordelia and allowed her to drop onto the floor. Cordelia began to sob as she gulped air in greedily.

"She was fifteen years old," the Axeman continued as he kicked Cordelia in the ribs. "How dare you!" He pulled his axe from the ground and held it above Cordelia's neck. "How _dare _you!"

The Axeman brought his axe down towards Cordelia's trembling body. She rolled out of the way to the best of her ability, but the blade grazed her as she moved and immediately opened a long wound down the side of her forearm.

"Look at yourself!" Cordelia screamed back. "Are you so different?"

The Axeman took a moment to laugh bitterly and sarcastically in Cordelia's face. "I watched your mother grow up. She was a fierce one, knew just what she wanted. Just like Madison. I could have had her if I wanted." He paused. "But I would never take advantage of a child like you did."

Cordelia's stomach lurched. _She wasn't that young, she wasn't that young!_ Her brain screamed. _She was so eager, she was so ready!_

But as the entity stared into her eyes, inches from her face, Cordelia began to smirk.

"You watched," she murmured. "You watched, didn't you?"

The Axeman straightened, a look of pure disgust plastered on his face. "Listen here, woman—"

"No," Cordelia interrupted, "No, I'm not going to take this from a pervert like you."

The man spluttered and spat as he struggled to find the right response. Cordelia grinned as she stood and walked towards him.

"You—you're wrong!" The Axeman yelled as he stumbled backwards. But Cordelia kept walking, kept following the light he emitted until she was close enough to jab her finger into his cold chest.

"Locked in this room with nothing to do, we both know exactly what you did," she mocked. "And that you enjoyed it."

The rage and fear that now emitted from the ghost was palpable and practically shook the tables and chairs in the room. Cordelia drank in the feeling, relishing in the reactions she was getting out of him, trying to keep herself from laughing at his horror.

_Some cold-blooded murderer this guy is._

"You know I didn't do that," the Axeman practically pleaded through his anger.

Cordelia shook her head slowly, wordlessly. Tauntingly.

The entity turned from Cordelia and ran a hand through his greying hair, shaking with anger and anxiety. "Listen, lady, I just want to get out of here."

"Hm, I thought you would like it in here," Cordelia taunted again. Now that she had started, she couldn't stop. Some got addicted to crack cocaine, others addicted to alcohol. But the headmistress found herself feeding off of the reactions people gave her. Whether it was frustrating a stranger or making Madison scream, she couldn't get enough. So she pressed on.

"Must be nice, considering you get front row seats every night."

The Axeman responded with a scream, a war cry, and the sound of his axe slicing through the air towards Cordelia. She ducked and held back a bark of laughter. _What a fucking sissy._

But the Axeman kept swinging and swinging and just wouldn't stop, his eyes glazed over and his face slowly turned beet red. Cordelia began to feel anxiety creep into her muscles and settle into her bones.

"Go to hell!" Cordelia cried through her fear in an attempt to reach the scared man she had seen moments before, but it was too late.

"Ladies first," the Axeman hissed through his rage as he charged.

Cordelia let out another bloodcurling scream and ran towards the other side of the room, praying that the girls would hear her and try to hurry themselves up. She heard the axe make contact with one of the chairs, shattering it with a sickening crack. Cordelia cowered under a dresser, deep sobs escaping from her chest as the Axeman came closer and closer. She closed her eyes and cursed her attitude like Fiona used to, then prepared to accept the fate this ghost had delivered, but seconds passed, and those seconds dragged into a minute and…nothing.

The door to the room swung open and she heard someone kneel next to her. She reached out and touched their face.

"Madison," she whispered desperately. "Madison, Madison…"

But she recognized the face to be Nan's.

Cordelia struggled to quiet herself as Nan grabbed her wrists and tore her hands away from her face.

"Don't touch me, Miss Cordelia," she begged under her breath. "Don't touch me."


	7. Chapter 7

Co-written with the the awesome Graceonce

Beta-ed by Ly Merrick and Foxxaye

**Rated M for content. From here on, it's going to get REAL heavy.**

**Music:**

**I Like It Rough by Lady Gaga**

_Won't go without my fix tonight,_

_It's a little too rough._

_Prom girl wipes her tears with silver lines._

_And she can't get enough_

Cordelia's fingers reached for her bedside table lamp out of habit, even though her eyes were dead, even though she couldn't see the change in light. But her hands tightened around the cord and pulled anyway. She heard it click on and the light bulb damn near singed her fingers as she reached for her phone as it rang endlessly.

That's what had pulled her out of her black dreams, the phone. She brought it to her face, fingers scrambling to find the green button.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end didn't say anything, but she knew the drunken breaths like the back of her own hand. "Shit." Why had she picked up? "It's late, Hank." Why couldn't he leave her alone? It was bad enough that she was blind, bad enough that Madison had gone missing and that the council had been convened inside the academy, did she really need her drunk husband -_soon to be ex husband_- calling her at impossible hours? Her hands reached besides her, playing with the sheets on the empty side of the bed where the young honey haired witch usually slept.

"I miss you, baby. I want to come home."

_Just admit you miss not paying rent._

"Go to bed, Hank."

"No no, Delia, don't hang up please-"

"Don't." She hissed into the phone. "Don't call me that. Don't you dare." Hank's voice went slack. He knew he had her attention. _Dammit_.

He laughed softly, bitterly, before whimpering into the phone. "Please take me back. You won't regret it."

"I regretted it the day I married you."

"You can't deny that I've made your life that much easier by being around." He snapped. He'd always been an angry drunk. "I'd like to know what would have happened to you if I hadn't married you and taught you everything you know? What would you have done if I hadn't gotten rid of Ashley for you? Do you think she'd have made it to the police station, beat up as she was? With her broken kneecap? Think on that, won't you?" He slurred.

She shivered and hugged herself. "That was a long time ago, Hank. Don't hold this over my head."

"You were fucking sloppy." He paused. "I'd make one hell of a witness against you, don't you think?"

Cordelia narrowed her dead eyes. "Are you threatening me?"

"Am I?" He asked, holding back a hiccup. "You're blind, _Cordelia_, what are you able to do now? If I go down, if you make me go down, we _both_ go down."

"You're drunk. You seem to forget that I run a coven-"

"Your _mother_ runs the goddamn coven."

"And she'll get rid of you before I've even finished asking her to. She wants nothing more than to expel your sorry ass to the other side of this galaxy."

Hank went quiet, barely breathing.

"Good night, Hank. Don't call again."

She slammed her phone down against the covers, breathing hard, her heart aching to beat out of her ribs.

_I'm so fucking screwed._

_No._

_No I've got this._

_OOOoooOOO_

Obsessions by Marina and the Diamonds

_Won't you quit your crying? I can't sleep_

_One minute I'm a little sweetheart_

_And next minute you are an absolute creep_

_OOOoooOOO_

She needed to take a walk, she needed a drink. Something bitter against the back of her throat.

With a resigned, empowering, sigh, still reeling from Hank's call, she reached for the cane leaning against the side of her bed and stood shakily. The darkness around her was heavy, but she breathed as best as she could.

She'd never been claustrophobic, but being blind had changed quite a few things about her, that included.

Through sheer luck (in the next lifetime, she'd think of remembering where everything was) she found her door and made her way out into the hallway.

She called out tentatively, her voice bouncing off the academy's white walls. "Delphine?" A sweep of her cane. Step, step, another sweep. "Delphine?"

_How can someone who's been sleeping for so long, still sleep?_

There was a creak from in front of her, and she held out her hands, testing the air. "Spalding?" _He's mute, Cordelia_. Someone ran in front of her, steps echoing on the wooden floors. Her heart began a wild dance, her breath coming out in gasps. "Who is it? I know you're there-" She took a few steps forward and-

"Woah woah! Hold it there!"

Cordelia was pulled back from the stair's edge into a set of arms, Madison's arms. The headmistress grasped onto the girl, fingers flying over her skin.

"Madison-" She breathed out, her eyes beginning to tear up in shock and confusion and relief.

Complete relief.

_There_ was her loose end.

The older blonde's hands tangled deep in the younger witch's hair. The girl's honeyed voice reached her in a panicked whisper. "No, no please don't-" But it was too late, Cordelia's fingers traveled down her neck, and she was struck with a heart-halting vision.

Flashes of red. The last bar she'd been to and a pool table and the glint of a letter opener. Her rug? Screaming and taunts and-

She gasped loudly, her lungs screaming for air, as she let go of Madison, as if she'd been branded. Her voice was as hoarse as the actress's in the vision. "Fiona."

The headmistress's fingers curled around the edge of Madison's shirt, pulling her in closer, her dead eyes staring wherever she could, wherever she guessed the blonde was. "Fiona did this to you. Madison." She paused, breathing heavily. "I've missed you."

The actress didn't answer, but she burrowed into Cordelia's embrace, tears in free fall against her cheeks, standing there in the dark.

Cordelia looked away, blue eyes gazing endlessly. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know. I don't know, I died and I was brought back." Madison answered after a second. "I don't want to talk about it. Please."

The headmistress frowned. "Please, what? I don't-"

"Please love me." Madison stood on her tiptoes, her breath tickling the shell of Cordelia's ear.

"Why were you with Fiona that night?"

"I-What?" Baffled, the actress landed back on her heels. Cordelia could hear the confusion etched on her face, but she didn't back down.

"The night you died. Why were you with Fiona?" Her voice broke. "You knew she was dangerous. I told you." _I told you not to leave my sight._

_My sight._

Madison let go of her, and Cordelia instantly missed the contact. Now she didn't know where the witch was. _Curse my eyes._

"I was trying to please you. I just wanted you to forgive me for going out that night and-" The honey blonde laughed bitterly. "I guess asking Fiona for tips on keeping you wasn't a good idea."

"You told her-?!"

"No, no relax. I'm not that stupid." Madison's voice was far away, she'd stepped back, had probably retreated into the shadows. Cordelia heard her scuff the toe of her boot against the floor. "I wanted to impress you."

"By disappearing on me? By getting yourself killed?"

Madison whimpered.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Cordelia held out her arms, and the girl practically leaped back into her chest.

"I love you."

"I know. I know." The headmistress whispered it again into her hair, kissing the skin she found underneath her ear. The actress shifted against her.

"What happened?" Madison asked softly, reaching up to trace the scars on the headmistress's face. Cordelia flinched away, a guttural sound ripping from her throat. "Sorry, I-Does it hurt?"

"Don't."

Madison fell back into silence, and Cordelia listened to her heart beat through the fingers against her back, her rib cage.

The younger witch helped Cordelia back to her room, their room for the night, and tucked her in before climbing underneath the covers besides the headmistress, arms instinctively wrapping around the older blonde's slim waist. Her breathing evened out quickly, safe as she thought she was in Cordelia's arms. The headmistress laid a hand on her love's bare back protectively, reassuringly, and turned her face away.

Madison smelled like death.

Madison smelled like death and innocence lost and even after being resurrected (_How _did_ she do that__?_) she smelled like men's body spray. After all this time.

What had she seen in the afterworld? Who had she seen? The girl lying next to her wasn't the same girl she'd come to covet. This girl had seen the death of her soul and the death of her trust and the death of her body. She knew so little, yet knew entirely too much. She was a liability. Madison Montgomery, to Cordelia, was now a liability. She'd seen the other side, she wouldn't be afraid to talk. She'd seen the other side, she wouldn't be afraid to make their relationship public to save what little she had, to save the headmistress for herself. She'd seen the other side, and Cordelia knew she wasn't going back without a fight, a proper one this time. Madison would drag her down to Hell with her. And she couldn't have that.

Strings needed to be cut. Ties needed to be severed.

And if it ended in death, so be it.

_I can't trust her. Not anymore._

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

"Tea?"

"No thank you."

_Suit yourself_. Cordelia blindly reached out and her fingers bumped against the flagon of whiskey she'd had brought over. Madison's flagon. She tipped into her own cup of tea, her lips already craving the numbing sensation it'd bring. Perhaps it'd even stop the scars from itching.

She took a sip and inwardly groaned at the instant gratification it brought her. Sweet, sweet relief. She set it down and gazed where she guessed Zoe Benson to be sitting. _Poor, innocent, Zoe. __Until you give her a chainsaw. God damn._

"I would say everything is different now but it's not. Everything around here is exactly the same. Only difference is now I see it. The Axeman was a bad spirit. You not only brought him here, you sent him packing, which means you are one hot shit witch. Power like yours does not go unnoticed. Which means you've got a bull's-eye on your back, kiddo, and our biggest enemy is locked, loaded, and looking at you." _So much power in such a frail little body. Turns out our black widow is a black bear and I'd have been in way over my head. I'd never thought I'd admit that to myself._

The young witch let out a little gasp. "Marie Laveau."

Cordelia couldn't help the laugh that escaped from her lips. "My mother."

"But she's on our side."

_Naive_. "Fiona Goode has been on the same side her whole life; her own." Cordelia paused, reaching right away for the whiskey, Screw the tea. "Now, I don't know if you are the next Supreme, nobody does, but if she jumps to that conclusion, right or wrong, she will slit your throat just like she did to Madison."_My darling Madison. Marred by that ugly scar. I figure it matches my own. And I figure I'll add another one to her body before she sees the darkness of her coffin._

"Nobody knows who killed Madison." Zoe protested hotly. "Not even Madison."

_What you don't know could fill an encyclopedia, Zoe._

"She doesn't, but I do." Cordelia shook her head. "My mother killed her because she thought Madison was the next leader of our coven. She wanted to absorb her power, her life force. So if she even _thinks_ you're next, you're next."

"Holy shit."

The headmistress smiled, though there was no joy behind it. "Right?" She took a little breath. "Fiona is fading, growing weaker, which only makes her more dangerous. A wounded animal will rip you apart if it's

cornered."

"So what do we do?"

_I'm glad you asked. So incredibly glad. You and I are going to be the best of friends when this ordeal finally bottoms out._

"It's simple." The older blonde's fingers tightened around her cane. "We're going to kill my mother."

She could feel Zoe's gaze burning against hers.

"Kill her once. Kill her good. Kill her dead."


	8. Chapter 8

Co-written with the amazing graceonce

Beta-ed by Ly Merrick and Foxxaye

**Rated M for content. **

**Music: Instant Crush by Daft Punk**

_He sees right through me, it's so easy with lies / __Cracks in the road that I would try and disguise / __He runs his scissor at the seam in the wall / __He cannot break it down or else he would fall / __One thousand lonely stars hiding in the cold / __Take it, I don't wanna sing anymore_

**—**

"What happened to the help around here?" Cordelia screamed through the house. She had finally managed to get the girls of the Academy together for a discussion, minus Queenie — _who changed camps, so fuck her anyway_ — and somebody had the nerve to start ringing the doorbell over and over.

And this was important. This was Cordelia's grand plan to kill her mother once and for all. Her mother, who was nothing but a big problem and a big obstacle, who had caused her pain for all thirty five years of her life. But, of course, someone had found it necessary to go ringing and ringing her doorbell, so it would have to wait.

Zoe volunteered to get the door.

"We hid in the swamp through the night," Cordelia heard a gravelly voice explain. She was suddenly hit with the smell of fresh mud and the sound of heavy breathing between the woman's words. "And made our way here when we were sure he was gone."

Cordelia followed the sound. The girl she heard was whispering frantically and dancing around the entryway, and Cordelia found herself stumbling around in the darkness confusedly as the voice surrounded her, first from her right, then from her left, then from her right again.

But despite the struggles Cordelia was feeling at the moment, the girl exuded fear, and Cordelia could smell it on her like a dog.

_Forget Fiona, she's exactly what I need._

The girl was helpless and fragile and more than anything, she was _desperate_. Girls like her didn't turn Cordelia down. They never could. After the first empty promises Cordelia whispered to them, after they knew about the power she held in the Academy, they didn't stand a chance.

Even better for Cordelia, this girl didn't smell like death. She wasn't rotting from the inside out like Madison was, wasn't broken and aging quickly like Madison was. And she didn't have the body spray of that fucking neighbor hanging on her from beyond the grave.

"Who's there?" Cordelia called into the darkness.

"A witch," Zoe answered. "Seeking safety."

Cordelia heard light footsteps — _bare feet?_ — rushing towards her. "Somebody is looking to kill me."

The girl was eager to get close to Cordelia.

_Tactile. Perfect._

She stood inches from Cordelia's body as she spoke, and Cordelia wanted so badly to reach out and find something solid. To feel something that could confirm the fantasies already forming in her head. Fantasies of this girl being her new project, her new obsession, of this girl being all hers.

So she took the chance and reached out into the darkness with one hand.

As the girl wrapped her muddy hands around Cordelia's extended one, the headmistress was greeted by flashes of screaming, of flames, of abuse that left the girl reeling and isolated.

Cordelia felt the last of the girl's pain wash over her and forced herself to bite back a smile. She had spent months siphoning these feelings out of Madison when they had first gotten together. Night after night, Cordelia tried to pick something up off of her, but Madison just seemed to go blank, and sometimes Cordelia felt the need to check for a pulse because no matter what she tried, her eyes were so empty and so dead.

But with this new arrival, the pain and the trauma was delivered to her doorstep and she got to drink it all in at once. Cordelia couldn't help but feel her mind wander to what it would be like with more intimate touches, if she would feel more of her pain, more of her desperation to be loved.

"You're Misty Day," she whispered. "You were set on fire and left for dead. Whatever troubles you had, they are ours now."

Cordelia could feel the tension in Misty's body release as she spoke, the relief traveling through her body and up Cordelia's arm where their hands were still clasped together.

"You're under the protection of this Coven. This is your house."

Misty pulled Cordelia impossibly close.

_Holy shit._

"Hey, could my friend stay here, also? I left her out back in the greenhouse."

Cordelia nodded through her trance. All she could think about was closing the distance between her and Misty, claiming her right then and there.

Misty broke the contact with Cordelia and it was as if Cordelia was coming down from a high. Her access to Misty's pain, to her neediness and her touchiness, was gone and she felt herself longing to reach out and grab her again.

_I have to have her,_ she chanted. _I have to have her, I have to have her._

—

"Hello?" Cordelia called into the greenhouse. Even from the entrance, she could tell the guest had been spending time with Misty in her swamp. The smell of mud and sweat and fear was just as pervasive as it was on the newcomer, and Cordelia felt herself hoping it was another girl. Another potential replacement for Madison.

_And even if Misty does work out, it would be nice to have another girl on hand…_

"Don't worry. You're amongst friends," she continued through her thoughts.

"Of course I am, Cordelia. So long as Fiona isn't with you."

The hair raised on the back of Cordelia's neck as the familiar voice reached her ears. "Myrtle? Oh my God."

Cordelia couldn't stop herself from smiling. Of course, just as soon as Misty arrived at the Academy, so did her protector. _We're meant to be, Misty. Can you feel it, too?_

The headmistress searched for the right words to thank Myrtle for coming back. For making the decision to return to the Academy, despite her death, to keep tabs on everything for Cordelia. But there was so much to say and so much to hide, so Cordelia decided on a basic "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Poor choice of words, girl," Myrtle replied. "But given my wretched appearance, maybe it's a good thing you're blind as a butter knife."

Cordelia reached out for Myrtle. She felt her hand make contact with soft fabric, then an old scarf, then marred, thick scar tissue and frizzy hair.

_Hair?_ Her face may be scarred, but if she had been burnt, her hair would be the first to go. And if she hadn't been burnt, then God knows who Myrtle had been off conniving with.

"How did your hair grow back so quick?" Cordelia demanded.

"Oh, little bird, I've been buying in bulk from North Korea for years," Myrtle answered easily. Then, mirroring Cordelia's motions, Myrtle reached up to touch Cordelia's face. "What have they done to you?"

"I've lost my eyes," Cordelia answered. "You were burned at the stake, and our own Supreme murdered one of her witches. I'm afraid this Coven has fallen on hard times."

_And Myrtle, you're in this too deep to stop protecting me now. Fiona has gone insane in her search for the Supreme and I need you here as a buffer._

"Or maybe it's the best of times. Resurrection is a feat more difficult than all the tests of the Seven Wonders. Those of us who have recently died have been brought back to life by the hand of one person here," Myrtle began. Cordelia fumed. Had Myrtle completely ignored what she had just tried to communicate? Fiona had gone insane. "Misty Day."

Cordelia felt Myrtle turn towards a corner of the greenhouse.

"Behold, our next Supreme."

Cordelia's smile dropped from her face.

—

"Goddammit, Myrtle, how could you?" Cordelia screamed.

Myrtle had come up to Cordelia's room with a glass of tea and, as she put it, "secrets from the flames." She had figured that perhaps, after the time they had spent apart, Cordelia would want to be updated. But Myrtle had barely gotten a word out of her mouth before Cordelia had turned on her and unleashed a stream of anger onto her ally. Or rather, who she _thought_ was her ally.

"You know putting these ideas in the girls' heads is a bad idea," she continued to yell. "For you and for me!"

"Delia, dear, I thought this would be good news. We're replacing Fiona as—"

"You really don't understand!" Cordelia flung her cane towards Myrtle's voice. "Do you?"

Myrtle stayed quiet. Cordelia's cane had missed her head by mere inches.

"Misty just joined us, and if she begins to think she's more powerful than us, then I have no chance!" Cordelia spat.

"Delia," Myrtle said cautiously, slowly. "Are you…interested in her?"

"I don't know, Myrtle!" Cordelia paced blindly around the room. "Can we just focus on you and your goddamn incompetence for one minute?"

"Yes, dear," Myrtle whispered dejectedly. "I'm sorry."

"Not to mention the danger you put my—Misty in!" Cordelia stopped in her tracks and stared into the darkness where Myrtle should be. "Fiona has gone insane, and if she catches even one word about Misty being the Supreme, she'll kill her on the spot."

There was a long silence. Cordelia cursed her eyes. _How am I supposed to communicate with Myrtle now?_

"Do you understand _now_?"

"Yes, I shall keep my mouth shut from now on," Myrtle responded in a wobbling voice. "I apologize, my dear."

"I don't even know what to say to you." Cordelia's mind was still reeling of images of her mother coming after Misty, after the only person in the house she wanted. Images of Fiona stealing dear Misty away, and though it wouldn't be the first time Fiona stole something, it still shook Cordelia to her core. And it was all Myrtle's fault. Myrtle, who was supposed to be protecting her. "Get out of my sight."

Cordelia heard Myrtle shift her weight. "And don't even think about commenting on my goddamn eyes again, Myrtle. I may be blind, but I'm not stupid, and I don't need your pity."

Cordelia would be damned if she needed anybody's pity at all. _This is my house, nobody else's,_

_And it's under _my_ control._

**—**

**Music: Edge of Seventeen**

_Well, I hear you (well, I hear you) / __In the morning (in the morning) / __And I hear you (and I hear you) / __At nightfall (at nightfall) / __Sometime to be near you / __Is to be unable to hear you / __My love / __I'm a few years older than you_

**—**

Cordelia sat on her bed, staring into the void towards the sound of running water. She had convinced Misty to use her shower to get cleaned up and to get the layer of mud off of her hands, not to mention the rest of her. It had taken a surprisingly short amount of time and before she knew it, Misty excitedly stripped off her clothes and jumped into the shower.

"Thank you, thank you…" Misty giggled, then trailed off. "Hey, what's your name again?"

"Cordelia Foxx," Cordelia answered. "But you can call me Miss Cordelia, okay?"

"Miss Cordelia," Misty repeated. Cordelia could hear the smile in her voice.

And much to Cordelia's pleasure, as Misty got into the shower, she never heard the bathroom door close. Misty must have forgotten to shut it.

So Cordelia found herself on her bed, weighing her options.

_God, if I could just go in there now and open that shower door. I wish I could see, I wish I could see so badly._

Cordelia's mind jumped to the night she spent with the Axeman, the night of her brush with death. She was so convinced there was no chance for her. So convinced that her girls had failed her and left her for dead up in that bedroom. And as she was preparing for that axe to come down and chop clean through her neck, she realized how quickly her time on Earth had come to an end.

So when the Axeman was released and her life was spared, she realized that she needed to take more opportunities. Do what she wanted. Take no prisoners.

Cordelia got up from the bed and grabbed her cane, fighting her way towards the bathroom. She wasn't about to let another minute pass without doing something about her feelings for Misty.

As she reached the bathroom, her shoe brushed against something laid on the floor. Cordelia carefully bent over and picked it up. Running the material through her hands, she realized that it was Misty's mud-coated dress.

Cordelia brought the dress up to her nose and inhaled the scent.

_Shit. It smells just like her._

She smelled it again, then again.

And before she could stop herself, she gathered up the rest of the clothing she could feel lying on the floor and crushed it into a small ball, which she held under her arm as she made her way to her closet.

She placed the clothing somewhere between the clothes she had taken from Madison while doing laundry and a t-shirt from a girl whose name she couldn't remember if she tried.

—

"Miss Cordelia?" Misty called from the bathroom.

Cordelia was in a trance, practically meditating on the smells wafting from everything she had kept hoarded in her closet. Since going blind, Cordelia had found that having enhanced senses other than sight was more of a nuisance than anything else. The smell of certain foods made her vomit, Hank's voice was a hundred times more annoying, and, worst of all, everything was unbearably loud. To top it all off, Cordelia was constantly suffering from migraines due to all of this sensory overload.

But the closet made it all worth the pain. Cordelia hadn't realized it until now, but she could smell Madison's perfume mixed with her own scents within the closet. It was her old perfume, too. The same perfume Cordelia would buy for her every Christmas, the same perfume she was wearing when she first came into the Academy at fifteen years old. Cordelia loved that smell and all the memories it brought back, from their first night together to the last time they were happy. Before Madison had gotten restless and stopped wearing that perfume just to spite the headmistress.

But there was an even better present hidden for Cordelia in that closet, hidden deep beneath Madison's scent.

She could smell the girls who never wore perfume.

Of course, while taking the girl's clothes so many years ago, she had made sure to choose ones that were dirty so she could preserve the girls' smell as long as possible, but she thought the scents had faded years ago.

Boy, was she wrong.

"Miss Cordelia?" Misty called again.

Cordelia snapped out of her trance. "Yes, Misty?"

"Where are my clothes?"

"They're…" Cordelia stumbled over her words as she scrambled to find an answer. "They're in the wash. Spalding is taking care of them, don't you worry."

"Oh, okay," Misty said quietly. "I've got a problem, though."

"What is it?"

"I don't have any other clothes, Miss Cordelia."

Cordelia smiled to herself. She had forgotten Misty only had one outfit with her when she arrived at the Academy.

_Hell, I'm not complaining._

"Why don't you put on my robe and we'll find something for you to wear, okay?" Cordelia suggested. "It should be in there somewhere."

Misty spent a few moments looking. "Found it!"

Cordelia could barely contain herself as she thought of Misty wearing her robe, of sweet, young Misty's bare skin pressed up against Cordelia's clothing.

And her scent rubbing off on it.

"Meet me in the closet when you're decent."

_Or before. Either way._

Cordelia heard bare feet padding towards her.

"Gosh, I can't thank you enough," Misty drawled quietly. "I can't say anybody's ever treated me this kindly before."

Cordelia smiled. "It's no problem. Really."

"So I can choose from anything in here?" Misty asked.

"Take your pick."

Misty mumbled to herself as she traveled around the closet. Every once in a while she stopped and Cordelia could hear hangers scraping across metal bars as Misty inspected an article of clothing, but she seemed to be making no progress.

Suddenly, the movement stopped.

"Misty?" Cordelia called into the darkness.

"Hey, what's this shirt?" She asked. "It looks like a—a band? NSYNC? What's that?"

The only t-shirt in Cordelia's closet. Misty was probably about a foot away from her own clothing at the moment.

_But of course she picks up the NSYNC shirt._

"It's a band," Cordelia answered shortly.

"Oh, cool!" Misty giggled. "Did you see 'em in concert?"

"Something like that."

Cordelia's mind jumped back to when she was in her twenties. It was as though the entire country was boy band crazy, and of course the girl she had her sights set on was no different. She had just turned twelve years old and, for her birthday, Cordelia bought her tickets to see NSYNC live. The girl let Cordelia hold her hand throughout the concert. At first it was motherly, a way to protect her from a crowd full of strangers. But by the end of the night it was something entirely else and Cordelia knew she had won. That little girl was hers.

And after their first night together, the girl gave Cordelia her t-shirt.

"Because I love you, too, Miss Cordelia," she had said.

Cordelia heard more rustling from the closet.

"Hey, w-why is my stuff in here?" She asked. "I thought you said you were washing it?"

The headmistress froze. Everything had been going so well. Misty had been receptive to her, so friendly, so childlike. This was the first time any of her girls had found out about the clothes Cordelia kept in her closet, and of course it was Misty, the perfect girl.

_No. No, I'm not letting you slip through my fingers. I know what you want, Misty, and I can give that to you. Companionship. Love. A home. Just, for God's sake, don't resist me._

"It's because I like you, Misty."

There was a long silence. Cordelia could hear Misty continuing to rustle through her clothes.

"W-what…?" Misty stammered.

"That's what people do when they like each other," Cordelia explained. "You keep some of their things to remember them by."

"Oh, like me and Stevie?" Misty asked animatedly.

"You and who?"

_I swear, if this is some guy…_

"Stevie! Stevie Nicks," Misty explained, stepping closer to Cordelia in her excitement. She was so close, the headmistress could feel the heat radiating off of her from the shower she had just taken. "I collect all of her records, shawls that look like hers, everything."

"Yeah, exactly like that," Cordelia smiled, reaching out towards Misty.

Misty grabbed her hands and squeezed. Cordelia could feel the cotton of the NSYNC t-shirt lying in her left hand.

"Hey, you know what?" Misty murmured. "I like you too, Miss Cordelia."

—

Cordelia's blood was still boiling over what she had just seen. Despite their earlier conversation, Myrtle had droned on and on about Misty being the Supreme. Misty had been so good, so obedient, as she insisted even during the Sacred Taking that she didn't want to be the Supreme. Just as I asked. But Myrtle refused to listen, and none other than Fiona waltzed into the room as she continued to try and convince Misty she was about to inherit the Supremacy.

Even worse, somehow Cordelia's plan had failed and Fiona was completely fine. No trace of an overdose, not even a failed overdose, in her behavior at all.

She couldn't decide which made her angrier: Fiona's uselessness, or Myrtle's uselessness.

_A goddamned tingle in the cooch._

Two gunshots broke through her thoughts.

"What was that?" She demanded frantically. "Myrtle, what the hell was that?"

"I must admit, I don't know," Myrtle answered shakily.

"Holy shit," Zoe breathed. "Guys, where is Misty?"

_Transmutation. If Myrtle is right, I swear…_

Cordelia threw herself off her her chair, fumbling for her cane. "Zoe, take me outside. We're going to go look for her."

Zoe and Cordelia stumbled out into the heady New Orleans night. Sirens were blaring up and down the street and, despite the heat, a cold sweat broke out on Cordelia's forehead. "Zoe, what's going on?"

Cordelia could feel Zoe shift towards the source of the sirens and police radios. "I don't—"

"God _damn _it, Zoe, figure it out!"

"Stay here, okay? Give me two minutes." Cordelia heard Zoe's footsteps running towards what the headmistress could only assume were emergency vehicles.

—

Cordelia burst into the Ramseys' household, stumbling and falling as she tried to find Misty.

_There was a shooting. They think maybe it was a robbery._

It wasn't unheard of for a witch to transmutate directly into danger, especially as they were just developing the skill. As she crawled across the floor, Cordelia braced herself for the sound of a paramedic kicking her off of the property, or the feeling of warm blood, or of—

The headmistress' heart nearly stopped as her fingers came into contact with soft, curly hair splayed across the floor.

"Misty…?" she whimpered. She pulled herself up towards the girl, her arms wrapping around the body that was undeniably Misty's. "Come on, you're alright…"

Cordelia curled herself into the girl's body heat. Her panic mixed with anger as she realized this may be as far as she would get. This may be the extent of the time she got with Misty, the extent of an intimate touch, and there was _nothing_. No visions, no more of Misty's life before her short time at the Academy, no pain and no fear that she wanted so desperately to see.

"Misty!" She began to scream. "Misty, Misty, get up!"

Slowly, Cordelia realized that Misty's chest was moving up and down. In tiny, tiny movements at first, then it began to heave as Misty began to suck in air.

Cordelia rejoiced internally as Misty opened her eyes.

"Miss Cordelia…?" She slurred through heavy breaths.

Before she could manage a response, Cordelia was suddenly hit with all the visions she had been begging for, the same sequence she had seen earlier: dragging, screaming, begging, flames. All the pain and the suffering of the woman lying beneath her on the Ramsey's wood floors.

Cordelia closed her fists around Misty's hair.

"Y…you okay?" Misty asked.

Cordelia breathed out and allowed a smile. "Never been better."


	9. Chapter 9

Co-written with the ever awesome Graceonce

Beta-ed by Ly Merrick and Foxxaye

**Rated M for so many reasons. Oh god.**

**Music:**

**Tusk by Fleetwood Mac**

Why don't you ask him what's going on? / Why don't you ask him who's the latest on his throne? / Don't say that you love me! / Just tell me that you want me

**Serial Killer by Lana Del Rey**

If I lay really quiet, / I know that what I do isn't right, /I can't stop what I love to do. / So I murder love in the night, Watching them fall one by one they fight, / Do you think you'll love me too, ooh, ooh? / Baby, I'm a sociopath, / Sweet serial killer. / On the warpath, / 'Cause I love you just a little too much.

**Off to the Races by Lana Del Rey**

I'm not afraid to say that I'd die without him / Who else is gonna put up with me this way? / I need you, I breathe you, I never leave you /They would rue the day I was alone without you

—

Cordelia's fingers traced patterns along the cabinets, the countertops. She just wanted to find what she needed to find. Why was that so hard?

_But what am I looking for?_

Her thoughts flitted to the swamp witch sleeping upstairs. She was older than the other girls, just a year or two of difference between her and Madison, and yet there was something so childlike about her. Was it her big blue-green eyes? The way she drawled her words? Cordelia had to admit her voice made her weak in the knees.

_Just imagine her screaming my name._

She was brought to Misty like a flame to a moth. And a certain witch hunter had brought the swamp witch into the lion's den. She had Hank to thank, even though this was just a result of him being selfish. Again.

The wild blonde was scared enough now to trust her, that was all that mattered. It was obvious she'd never been loved, obvious she'd never loved. The headmistress was like a guiding light for her now.

But Cordelia was worried. She couldn't see. How would she judge Misty's reactions?

Her hands hit the carton of eggs that'd been placed on the counter and she swore loudly. "Goddammit! Could people please not move things? Some of us are blind!" She yelled out. Damn if the girls would get any sleep. She couldn't, not with her migraines. Why should they?

"Here it is, Delia. Let me help you." Myrtle Snow's voice, like a savior in the darkness.

Cordelia frowned, suddenly angry. "Let me do it! It's my mess!" _You always want to help, but I'm not a novice anymore. I can do this. By myself._

"Delia, I need to say something, or I'll simply explode." Myrtle paused besides her in the sea of black. "I need to know for certain that you don't think I did this to you." Cordelia's eyes followed her voice. "I remember the first day Fiona dropped you off here."

_So do I. So many girls were here. So many girls then, so little now._

"You were like a baby bird, pushed too soon from the nest. Do you remember what you asked me?"

Cordelia did. "Will you be my mother now? I've always loved you like a daughter."

_Loved me like a daughter, protected me like the church._

"Wrap your arms around me, dear girl. Use your power of sight, and you'll see that I could not have done this terrible thing."

The blonde shook her head furiously. "No." She spat. "No. I won't. I don't need magic to tell me what I already know. I know you would never hurt me." _Not after all these years, not after all your opportunities to hit me where it hurt the most. But that was always you, wasn't it Myrtle? You wanted to be the perfect mother to a perfect daughter. You couldn't say no like Fiona did. You let me run loose__._"I never doubted you for a second, and I told my mother that. My mother set you up." Does she know? "My blindness gave me real vision, but it's of no use to me now. Not when there are witch hunters right outside our door." _And inside our walls. Sleeping in my bed._

"Darling if I could pluck my own eyes out of my head and gift them to you, I would."

_So much promise._

"I know."

Myrtle fell silent. She came closer to Cordelia, fingers ghosting over her clothe-clad skin. "How is the young Madison?"

The blonde frowned. "She's…I can't lie, Myrtle. She's different. Death changed her."

"It does that."

"She's not who she was. She's not afraid anymore." Cordelia turned her blind eyes to where she guessed the redhead was. "I don't have control." She blinked. "I have to let her go."

Myrtle took a sharp breath.

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

_They're ugly_. And yet there was something about them. Something that pulled even Cordelia in. She wanted to swallow her own reflection.

She stared at her new eyes, black and ice blue. She knew where they came from, but even on Pembrooke and Quentin, they'd never been this bright, this determined. She'd given them new life. She fancied that wherever the council now was, they'd see the world through her eyes. See the horrors like she did.

She hoped they enjoyed the ride.

She looked away from the mirror, her hands running the curves of her own body as she thought.

Myrtle had been so eager to give her her new eyes. The redhead knew a blind woman couldn't lead the academy, no matter how strong she was, not with so many dangers. Dangers by the names of Fiona and Hank and Marie. Marie who knew something was up and who wouldn't hesistate to strike. Marie who knew there was something off about her darling witch hunter, but couldn't even fathom that Cordelia knew everything. Knew all the treacheries and all the back stabbings.

But that was the thing. The blonde knew, she always did. No one suspected poor, meek Cordelia, headmistress to a dying school and daughter to a careless Supreme. It made it so much easier to pull the strings from behind the blood red curtain.

And Myrtle also knew Cordelia's charms worked better when she had eyes, and Myrtle never had been one to say no to the blonde, never had been one to enjoy Cordelia's unhappy moods. She wanted a smiling daughter. She'd kill for it. She had.

Cordelia had to admit that even though she'd lost the Sight, she was happy she could physically see again. Though she wasn't too ecstatic of what she did see. She had been right, Madison had taken a turn for the worst.

And worse for the headmistress, the actress was obviously not in love with her new eyes. She'd shrugged at the older blonde and left the room, sparsely a word said. But Cordelia didn't care, she'd already stricken the diva off her list. She was done for. _Just wait until your time comes, you ungrateful little bitch._

No. Misty was in her sights now. Both colored sights. She'd be easy pickings.

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

"Hey, can I try the incantation this time?"

Cordelia nodded softly at the swamp witch. "Go for it."

Misty's eyes took time to leave the headmistress's face, trying to drink in all her features, as Cordelia did with her. The wild blonde cleared her throat and read from her piece of paper, her latin hesitant.

"Bagahi laca bachahe. Lamac cahi achabahe. Karrrelyos."

Cordelia watched Misty's face fall as nothing happened, as her magic did nothing. The older blonde pressed her hand to the dip in Misty's back and looked up into those gorgeous eyes. "Stronger intent."

"Lamac lamec bachalyos. Cabahagi sabalyos Baryols."

It took a few seconds, and a few coaxes from Cordelia herself, but the plant before them sprung back to life, sending the necromancer into a fit of squeals.

"Damn! That is so cool!" She threw her hands up, obviously expecting a high five from the headmistress, and Cordelia followed her motions, pulling her in close as their fingers met.

"We make a great team." She breathed out. Misty nodded, pupils dilating at the warmth radiating off of Cordelia. Mismatched eyes pulled blue-green ones in. "Now we need to make some more of this for everyone." She let go of her hands, much to the swamp witch's dismay. "Go get some more of that mud back there."

Misty nodded enthusiastically and walked away, hips swaying to the Stevie Nicks records she'd put on in the background. Cordelia watched avidly, hands busy with her herbs, thoughts entirely somewhere else.

The necromancer suddenly turned around, a small smile on her face. "You're such an awesome leader, Miss Cordelia."_ Oh god, how my name rolls off her tongue_. "I've got so much to learn from ya." _You have no idea_.

"Fiona is the leader of this coven." Cordelia said, almost too forcefully, because Misty took a step back, a soft frown on her delicate face.

"Is she really?" The necromancer whispered.

_Cheeky._

"What is that supposed to mean?" The headmistress asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It just seems like ya run the place. You're around more than she is."

_She's too busy fucking a dead jazz player. Better for me. Better for you._

"Misty." Cordelia's mismatched eyes were dark. "If I tell you something, then it is so. First rule of being underneath this roof. Understand?"

The wild blonde nodded thoughtfully. She fit her hands into Cordelia's, relishing the feeling of human contact, eyes wide as she watched the headmistress's fingers play with hers.

"Whatever I tell you, whatever I ask of you, it's for your own good, Misty." The older blonde said.

"I understand." Misty gave her a brave smile. Cordelia's frown turned into a pitying smile, and she leaned over and kissed the girl on her cheek before pushing her away.

"Mud. Go."

The swamp witch practically sauntered away.

Cordelia turned back to the counter, hands fumbling to find something to hold on to. Misty was incredibly tactile, and the older blonde loved this side of her. Touches made it that much more personal, made it harder to pull away. To say Misty was easy was an understatement.

Or perhaps Cordelia had gotten that good over the years.

There was a noise from behind her, something being bumped into and falling, crashing to the floor. She glanced over her shoulder, and her posture slackened, unimpressed. "Well shit." She laughed bitterly. "I meant to change the locks."

"You have your sight back?" _Is that fear in his voice? Oh Hank, are you afraid that you have nothing to hold over me now?_ "Oh, oh my god." Hank's fingers were rough against her skin. "Did Fiona do this?"

"Let go of me." She snarled. "I said, let go." She pushed him away and he stumbled back, threatening to fall. "You're drunk."

"Yeah," He snorted. "I needed the courage to come back." _Did you find your balls at the bottom of the bottle too?_ He suddenly grabbed at her hands. "Hey, hey what do your eyes see? Can you see my heart? Can you see it's bleeding? That I'm living in a hell of regret and remorse?" _Why, because you can't find girls without me? I always did think you were an ugly little shit_. "My life has no meaning without you. What will it take, Delia?"

Cordelia sneered. "More than you've got." His eyes were hard against hers, fear creeping into them.

_That's right, darling, I don't need you anymore. And I sure as hell am never taking you back._

He straightened as Cordelia's wild blonde ambled back into the greenhouse, her head cocked to the side.

He cleared his throat. "Who's this?"

"Hey, I'm Misty."

"Can we have this conversation alone, please?" Hank asked, eyes barely leaving the necromancer's form to look at his wife. Misty raised an eyebrow and began to turn away.

Cordelia called her back to her side, and the swamp witch came over easily, her hands itching to fit back into hers. The headmistress could feel her blue-green gaze on her body, her face, but her mismatched eyes were fixed on Hank, this man she had called her husband for so many years.

He now read deeply into her stance and he glanced sideways at Misty again before locking his eyes onto Cordelia's.

She wasn't smiling, but she was smug, and he suddenly knew.

He was growing angry, Cordelia noted. Angry that she'd claimed the wild witch for herself like she'd claimed Madison all those years ago. He'd wanted her too. But like with the actress, he wouldn't have the new blonde. He acknowledged with just a blink that this girl was older than Madison, older than her usual students, but couldn't help but know that Cordelia felt such want, such a need to be loved coming off the swamp witch that she couldn't help but be enamored with her. She wanted love too, in her own bizarre way.

And that made Cordelia dangerous. She would kill to keep her. _Will you bare your fangs against me, Hank? Will you fight for her?_

The headmistress shook her head. "She and I have much bigger concerns than this conversation. I've told you how I feel. Take your stuff and leave." So many unspoken words. Words that she heard echoing through his skull.

"No, I'm not going anywhere." He protested hotly. "I'm your husband, this is my home!"

_And now the other shoe drops_. "Not anymore. I've spoken to a lawyer, I'm filing for divorce." _That's for Marie. That's for Kaylee. That's for going against my orders. You hear that Misty? I'm all yours. No more wedding ring to hide behind__._ She could almost hear the swamp witch squeal beside her.

"That's bullshit! You got to listen to me. All I want is to protect you. I know you don't believe it, but that's all I've ever wanted to do."

_You kept the police off my back at one point, but that was so many years ago. I've learned. And I don't need you anymore._

"Your shit's in a box in the closet. Get it, and then get out."

Misty's fingers finally found Cordelia's as Hank turned around angrily, headed for the door, murder in his walk. The younger blonde hadn't said anything, but she'd egged Cordelia on in her own way, and for that the headmistress was grateful.

Cordelia's slender fingers wrapped around Misty's waist and she pulled her in, lips connecting for the first time with the girl's. Misty melted into the touch instantly, barely containing her moan, barely containing her excitement at the ghost of an intimate touch.

Hank, hand around the greenhouse's doorknob, glanced back over his shoulder, scowling, as Cordelia stared back smugly, as she continued to fit her mouth against the swamp witch's.

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOOO

The hallways were dark, but not as dark as they had been when she was blind, never as dark. And the light at the end of the tunnel was so sweet.

Cordelia had managed to room Misty Day alone, even though her mother had harped that the girls needed to sleep in pairs, for their safety.

"She's older than the others, she's not a student, mother. She can take care of herself. She has been, and she will. Leave her be." Cordelia had snapped. And Fiona had left it well alone.

_Aren't I grateful._

She tried as hard as she could not to make noise as she walked around the wooden floorboards, knowing very well that a certain clairvoyant slept not far away, and that a certain actress would be pissed if she found the older blonde slinking somewhere else than her own bed this late at night.

_One, two three. This door. _Misty had left it unlocked._ Not smart. Or incredibly smart. Whichever._

Cordelia slipped into the room easily, waist small enough that she didn't have to make the door squeak as she went in.

The swamp witch was fast asleep on her bed, arms wrapped tightly around her covers, a smile on her lips where the headmistress had kissed her. Her golden hair was splayed behind her, fanned out on her pillow, and Cordelia had to fight the urge to run her fingers through it.

The headmistress lifted the corner of the white duvet and climbed between the covers behind Misty, wrapping her lithe arms around the younger girl's taut stomach.

Misty shifted back against her and lifted her hand to her face to rub sleep out of her eyes. "Who-?"

"Shh." Cordelia kissed her temple. "It's okay. It's just me."

The swamp witch turned in her arms to face her, a small frown on her face. "What are ya doin'?" She whispered back, confused.

Cordelia didn't answer her, instead brought their lips together into a sweet kiss, one that the young blonde immediately took to. And although she was taller, stronger than the headmistress, Cordelia took control as she hovered above Misty, leaning on her elbow, fingers tracing patterns into the girl's skin.

Misty shivered and pushed her away. She repeated her earlier qualms. "What are ya doin'?"

"Do you trust me?" Cordelia asked in the darkness, mismatched eyes on Misty's blue-green ones.

"Of course."

"This is your home now." The older blonde continued. "I'm your home now, yeah?"

Misty nodded as she let Cordelia kiss her again, moaning softly as the woman pinched at her side, but again, she pulled away. "Miss Cordelia, I've never-" She blushed deep, blushed to her roots.

"You said you trust me."

"Yeah, but-"

"I love you, Misty Day."

The swamp witch's eyes were wide as she sputtered out a few sounds, unable to form a word, a phrase.

"I love you and I'm never letting you go."

Misty's tongue was sweet against hers, innocent. Virgin.

_Who was my last virgin?_

Her fingers played with the knots and fastens on Misty's nightgown, itching to feel the ivory skin beneath it. She couldn't ask enough. "Do you trust me?"

"With all my soul." Misty replied quietly. She added. "I've never had a home."

Cordelia deftly undid the girl's nightgown and her palm fell flat against her stomach, the warmth there radiating through and up her arm. _God she's so lovely. I wish I could turn the light on. Maybe another time. When's the next field trip?_

Misty gasped against her, fingers wrapping around Cordelia's as the older blonde's crawled down. The headmistress kissed down her jaw line, down to her neck to suck at pulse point, and the necromancer squirmed underneath her, unsure of how to feel about all the new sensations.

Cordelia's nails dragged underneath her cotton panties and into short curls, the warmth there palpable. She'd barely started and the girl was already wet. She breathed against Misty's ear, her mind screaming as the swamp witch dug her fingers into her arm, her mouth open as she gasped out, little sobs wrenched from her throat as Cordelia rested her hand against her centre, her palm hinting at a dig.

Misty's hand wandered to her skin, and Cordelia pulled away. "Don't."

"But-"

"That's not how it works, Misty." The older blonde shushed her. "Let me take care of you, okay? Don't worry about me." Her fingers traveled back to the swamp witch's inner thighs.

_Innocence be damned._

She pushed a finger into the necromancer, watching as Misty gasped out and threw her head back, eyes wide. She didn't move much, instead letting the swamp witch find her own rhythm as her own needs grew. The younger blonde's hips shyly bucked against her own, trying to feel more.

"Yeah?" Cordelia breathed. "Talk to me."

The swamp witch's eyes slammed shut. Cordelia nibbled down her neck, leaving angry red marks as she started pumping her finger in and out of Misty, reveling in the solitary moan that tumbled out of the girl's mouth. "Cordelia-"

"Miss Cordelia." The headmistress corrected, nipping at her collarbone.

"Miss Cordelia, oh god-"

The older blonde introduced another finger before the necromancer could object, loving the way Misty arched against her as she followed her hips. Her thumb brushed against her clit.

Cordelia wasn't expecting a long life out of this, out of Misty,_ it's her first time after all._ But she rejoiced in the fact that there'd be plenty more.

Misty hissed against her, climbing up the bed as her heels dug into the mattress, her blue-green eyes electrified with lust and love and fear. Cordelia followed her up, kissing her senseless, her hand hitting her hard as she drove her in and as she drove her wild.

Misty came quietly, gasps stuck in the back of her throat, muscles tightening around Cordelia's hand. She shuddered against the headmistress, chest rising and falling, eyes opening and closing as she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened.

Cordelia kissed her back down to earth as softly as she could.

Misty gazed down at the older blonde, confusion etched on her face. "I…I love you too."

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

Cordelia finally slunk away around three in the morning, Misty having fallen asleep against her, satiated after having Cordelia between her legs for what felt like much more than just one night. But she'd wake up to an empty bed.

Cordelia never stayed for long.

She headed for the kitchen, headed for a beer, and as she rustled through the fridge's container, she heard heavy footsteps behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Delphine LaLaurie, still in her maid's outfit, out for an extremely early morning walk.

The immortal cleared her throat. "I know what you do."

Cordelia closed the refrigerator door, a bottle in her hand, plunging them into darkness. "Excuse me?"

"With the girls. With Madison and Misty."

The headmistress looked away. "You wouldn't understand."

"Oh but I do."

Cordelia's mismatched eyes met LaLaurie's. _You and I have nothing in common._

"I know what it feels like to be pulled into doing something you don't want to do." Oh but I don't mind doing it. Far from it. Delphine laughed bitterly. "You've heard my stories."

"I took the tour."

"I killed my first animal, and I never turned back. I only got bolder." The servant continued. "It only makes sense that you do the same. I'm not going to tell."

"I wouldn't expect you to."

"Us women got to stick together. I'm not going to tell." She repeated.

_Only because you're afraid I'd lash out._

"There's still a difference between you and me, Delphine." Cordelia smiled sweetly. "I haven't gotten sloppy. And I'm not about to get caught."

She held up her beer to salute the immortal.


	10. Chapter 10

Co-written with my favorite, the one and only Graceonce

Beta-ed with Ly Merrick and Foxxaye

**Music: Te Amo by Rihanna  
**

_Then she said "te amo" / T__hen she put her hand around my waist / __I told her no, she cried "te amo" / __I told her I'm not gonna run away, but let me go_

**Rated M for content.**

**—**

Cordelia's head was still ringing from the slap in the face she had received earlier.

She had awoken in a daze, head filled with memories from the night before, empty beer bottle on the nightstand next to her. After stopping in her closet to change and to run her hand over Misty's unwashed clothing hoarded in the back of one of her shelves, smiling softly to herself, she went downstairs only to see Marie and Fiona sitting at the table watching the news.

_The police have identified a man seen here in this video surveillance footage. If anyone has any information…_

Marie Laveau had taken the blame. Clueless and ignorant as usual, she "confessed" to Cordelia and her mother that she had hired Hank.

Cordelia had barely registered what was happening before Fiona stormed over and slapped her across the face, out of the chair she had sat in, and onto the floor. The force of the blow brought tears to Cordelia's eyes, and for a split-second, she could feel herself looking up at her mother and begging.

_Begging like a goddamn child._

The last time Fiona had hit her like that, she was sixteen and had dared to question where Fiona was for the past week. Things escalated, and Cordelia found herself being screamed at for hours. The slap was the icing on the cake.

Cordelia fumed as her mother lectured her. "You married Hank to prove some childish point and brought a viper into this sacred house!"

The headmistress rolled her eyes as she sat on the ground, cradling her face._Sacred house, my ass. This Coven is about as holy as a brothel. You're kidding yourself._

Cordelia retreated to her room, her vision clouded with rage and her heart pounding through her chest. She sat down on her bed as her mind screamed and thoughts raced through her brain. The witch ran her hands through her hair, balling them into fists and tugging as she gritted her teeth. _Goddamn Fiona, acting like she runs the place._

Cordelia stood and advanced towards her nightstand where the empty beer bottle sat.

_This house is not sacred, it never was, and it is not hers, it is not hers, it is not hers…_

She launched the beer bottle and it hit the wall, shattering into small pieces and spreading itself across her floor.

It was three hours later by the time Cordelia's mind finally cleared. She found herself hunched at her desk, legs twitching as her body recovered from its rushes of adrenaline, and heard only one word echoing through her head.

_Misty._

—

Cordelia found Misty in the greenhouse, humming to one of her Stevie Nicks records and tending to the plant she and the headmistress had grown together. She hadn't heard Cordelia enter the room and continued to sway her hips as she worked on coating the plant's roots in the dark green mixture still jammed in the blender.

Cordelia quietly wrapped her arms around Misty's waist and planted a kiss on her shoulder.

"Miss Cordelia," Misty smiled shyly as a blush crept up her face.

_Something's off__,_ Cordelia realized. _Something's wrong here._

Misty ghosted her hand over Cordelia's arm cautiously, as if testing the waters. Cordelia allowed her to settle a palm on the place where their forearms overlapped. But the movement shifted her shawl, and as it shifted on Misty's body, the smell of it offended Cordelia's senses.

"Where did you get that shawl?" She demanded. _That's not her smell._

"Stevie gave it to me," Misty turned to Cordelia and wrapped the shawl around herself tightly. "Your mother brought her over, Delia. You should have been there!"

"Miss Cordelia," Cordelia corrected quickly. "My mother arranged this?" _Of course she wouldn't tell me._

Misty nodded eagerly and continued. "And you know who this reminds me of?"

"Who?"

"You," Misty said, eyes shining as she looked down at Cordelia. "The way you kept some of my stuff because you—" Misty's blush returned and she looked down at her feet.

Cordelia allowed herself to smile. Misty was so sweet, so pure. So untainted by the world despite what had happened between the two. Cordelia made a good choice in picking Misty as her next project.

_God, if only the house were empty…_

Cordelia took Misty's hands in her own and played with the rings on her fingers._Just a few minutes with her, that's all I came for anyway_, Cordelia assured herself. _We have tonight. _Misty watched Cordelia carefully as the headmistress took Misty's hands in her own and reached up, bringing their lips together.

And despite the way Misty grabbed at the clothing on her back, Cordelia could have sworn she felt her trying to pull away.

—

"Could you please stop playing for a minute? I need to focus."

Cordelia found herself back at the greenhouse, trying desperately to distract herself by fiddling with a few plants that refused to grow in healthily. She had tried to help Fiona and Marie as they got revenge on Delphi but received only verbal abuse from her mother. And, even worse, seeking comfort and a friendly — _heck, more than friendly_ — touch, she looked for Misty but couldn't find her anywhere.

She looked in every room in every area of the house, but Misty was gone.

_Dear God, what if I scared her off? _Cordelia felt goosebumps raise on her arms as she panicked internally on her way to the greenhouse. _This has never happened before, no other girl has simply up and disappeared, I thought Misty would know better than that, especially after what we shared…_

And, as if she sensed Cordelia's distress from across the house, Myrtle had come into the greenhouse and set up a strange instrument in the middle of the room.

_God, I wish she would just stop with that thing._

"No, no, no. Sit. Listen to the celestial tones," Myrtle insisted as Cordelia got up to leave.

"What is that thing?" Cordelia spat. "It's hideous and weird."

"Don't be a hater, dear. It's a theremin," Myrtle cooed as strange reverberations echoed through the room. "I cannot tell you how playing this instrument soothes my soul in tempestuous times."

"Nothing could soothe my soul." Cordelia looked up at Myrtle, urging her to understand. _Myrtle, I am fucking screwed right now._

"I have nothing to offer this coven anymore," Cordelia continued. "Who am I? What do I do?" _Can you protect me?_

"You buck up, is what you do! Face reality headlong and carry on."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. _Shit response. Try again._

"But how? I have no one, and my powers are gone."

"Your salad dressing is absolutely magical. Maybe you could bottle it. Cordelia's Conjured Coriander Condiment," Myrtle suggested. "Or if you'd like a little getaway, maybe a job as a hostess on a cruise ship. You've got a lovely personality, and you're always well-groomed."

"Myrtle, are you _trying_ to push me over the edge?" Cordelia felt her arms begin to shake as the anger from earlier in the day re-entered her body. After everyone else had betrayed her, not even Myrtle could muster up a competent response?

"I'm trying to give you une demi tasse de realite, darling," Myrtle responded calmly, either not noticing or not caring about Cordelia's growing anger and slowly raising voice. "Let's be honest.

Living in Fiona's shadow is a challenge. What are your options when your mother's Hillary Clinton?"

Cordelia shook her head slowly. _Yes, what are my options, Myrtle? You sure aren't providing any._

"Between us chickens, no matter how hard I worked at it, I never felt special, either. But with my reemergence from the flames— look at me, I'm fabulous! Reinvigorated! One never knows what the universe has in store for us!"

Cordelia felt something within her snap. All day, it was as if the world was testing her. This was supposed to be the day she and Misty celebrated their new life together, celebrate Cordelia's conquer of Misty Day. But now Misty was gone, Fiona was getting a big head, and Myrtle refused to help.

Cordelia stood and screamed at her ally, crushing her hands into fists and pressing her nails into her palm. "Oh, stop! Stop talking! You are insane! My God! I am an absolute failure. Everything that Fiona says is true! I don't belong here anymore. I don't belong anywhere!"

Myrtle's mouth fell open as the headmistress grabbed the nearest plant and threw it onto the ground, then grabbing another, and another.

"No, no, my baby bird, you misunderstand!" She grabbed Cordelia's arms in an attempt to calm her. "Listen to me!"

Cordelia ripped her wrists from Myrtle's grip and turned to her, eyes dark with fury. "What?! Stop speaking in code, Myrtle, just get on with it!"

"You need to get out of here," Myrtle whispered. "Fiona has gone absolutely mad and she is going after your girls."

Cordelia stared into Myrtle's eyes.

"I'll buy you a ticket out of here by train and you can be gone by morning. But what's important is that you are not here anymore."

Cordelia began to shake her head. _She doesn't get it. She doesn't know._

"Yes, Cordelia," Myrtle protested. "This is for your own safety, and I know best."

_Useless. Useless fucking advice._

"You?" Cordelia snarled. "No, you're wrong. _No one _makes me cower in my home."

"This isn't about principles, this is about life and death," Myrtle continued, despite the warning look Cordelia had begun to give her.

"Fiona may be insane, but she always has been, Myrtle. I don't care what I have to do to make her stop, but by God, I am _not leaving_."

Myrtle, now reeling from the impact of Cordelia's words, looked into her mismatched eyes shakily, pleadingly. "Delia, don't yell, you haven't told me what in the world is going on with you."

Cordelia swallowed what she was about to bellow at Myrtle and took a deep breath, refusing to look up from the ground in an attempt to control herself. "That's enough for now, Myrtle. Get out of here."

_I am not leaving_, Cordelia repeated to herself as she turned back to her plants, mind racing as she tried to formulate exactly how to get herself out of her situation. Myrtle quietly picked up her theremin, cast a sidelong concerned glance at Cordelia, then shuffled out of the room.

_And godspeed to whoever tries to make me._


	11. Chapter 11

Co-written with graceonce

Beta-ed by Ly Merrick and foxxaye

**Music: **

**Red Eyes by Thomas Azier**

_Her lips are around you / You feel the sweat against your skin / Oh the mess you're in / Pieces falling in the games we play, and even castles couldn't get away / Red eyes / Red eyes_

**Guilty by Marina and the Diamonds**

_I was dreaming something dark / Hiding body parts / A broken dog, a broken leg / I left it cold, I left it dead / Oh I'm a guilty one / And know what I have done / Yeah, I'm a troubled one / And I won't be forgiven._

**Rated M**

_—-_

"Our coven mourns. After facing so many trials, defending ourselves against onslaught. Forging enemies into friends. The witches of Miss Robichaux's Academy have fought for their lives, and won. And so, it is with great sadness we must say good-bye to Nan."

Fiona paused.

"Who fell in the tub."

If it was socially acceptable to laugh at a funeral, Cordelia would have been down in the dirt, her sides splitting and tears falling down her cheeks, her laughter echoing through the cemetery. _Should I thank my mother now or later?_

When Zoe had screamed that morning, alerting the academy's residents to the bathroom, Cordelia had been surprised to find Nan's bloated body in the bathtub. Then she was pleasantly suprised. And then completely ecstatic. Though she did her best to hide it as she rubbed circles against Zoe's back, soothing her.

_With Nan out of the way, I can do literally anything I want._

_I've just got to get Madison under control. Or out of the way._

_And I've got to find Misty._

_But I'm free._

Free. She'd never been free. But Hank had died and Nan was dead and Fiona was dying. Cordelia wanted to grab the nearest witch and dance and sing off key. Hell, she'd have taken Marie into her arms.

Though maybe that wasn't such a good idea, the voodoo queen didn't trust her much. Not since the episode with Hank. _Who knows what he told her? But do I care? _She glanced sideways at Zoe and Madison. _God I wish Misty were here. This deserves a celebratory fuck._

_Though. Now that the clairvoyant bitch is gone…who says I can't have it all?_She tried her best to keep her mood somber, but it was hard as her mismatched eyes glazed over her leftover students.

"I have to do something before one more of our girls dies." Cordelia said weakly. Madison met her eyes, sneering. But the alchemist ignored her as she opened her mouth to say something most likely hurting. Zoe began immediately fighting with her.

_They're always bickering. I wonder if, all together, we could-? No. Stop. Act sad, dammit. Don't think about it. Fiona's staring. Can she hear me? She can't hear me. She never could. She can't._

A deep rumbling voice tore her out of her thoughts.

Queenie. Dragging Delphine behind her on a leash, the poor immortal reduced to a dog collar. "The gardener said you'd be here."

"You're alive?" Marie's eyes were wide as she glanced sideways at Fiona, almost apologetically.

_Looks like I'm not the only one who can't keep a headcount of my girls._

Queenie's response was immediate, snarky. "Bitch, you left me for dead."

"Oh, girl, I thought you were. Get your ass over here." The voodoo queen's arms were wide, but the black girl just stared her down.

Delphine suddenly stepped up and spat on the woman. "That's for dismembering me."

Cordelia looked away, her own thoughts blocking out the tumultuous voices of the others as she glanced down into Nan's coffin. She glanced up as Kyle spoke up, eyes on Delphine, an envious look on his face.

"No scars."

"If I'd have done you, you wouldn't look like you'd been jammed through a blender."

"The most important thing is that you're safe."

_Isn't it?_

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

"You seem half mad, dear."

"I had the sight once. I know it's still in me. It has to be. I think this could amplify it." Cordelia hissed back at Myrtle's expectant face.

The redhead frowned, turning away from the girls moving behind her to face the headmistress. "Aren't you glad to see again?"

"My blindness was an obstacle, Myrtle." The blonde said quietly. "But it helped me keep the girls in check. I could see where they were and what they were doing." Myrtle nodded, obviously thinking of Madison.

"And now that Misty's gone…"

"Misty-?"

Cordelia nodded softly.

"I see." The older woman cleared her throat.

"I need her back. Now. She could be out walking around blabbing her mouth off-"

"Would she?"

"She's confused. Young. Unexperienced. She might. I need to find her." Cordelia shook her head. "I need to find her."

"And the others?"

"What about them?" The blonde snapped. "They think she took a walk in the swamps and bumped her head. They don't give a shit. Coven, my ass."

"I meant, darling," Myrtle took a slow breath. "Do you have them under control?"

"Nan's dead. Zoe's an idiot, Kyle isn't faring much better, no matter how well my mother fixed him. And Madison…" Cordelia trailed off, laughing bitterly.

"And Madison?"

"She'd never say anything." The blonde whispered. "She's too proud. Too angry that I'm sharing our bed with a witch from the bogs. The most she can do is threaten me, and me alone." She turned back to her mixer, to her potions. "I'll get my sight back. I'll find Misty and everything'll be fine."

Myrtle opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it.

"Sorry to intrude, Cordelia. I was pruning your fig trees…"

The redhead perked at the gardener's entrance. "Ah, figs, ah, figs, Mother Nature's brown diamonds. In the fall, the rotting leaves smell like an Olympian's ejaculate. Figgy pudding cures the blues and banishes acne. I'm mad for it."

Cordelia ignored her. "What did you do to your hand, James?"

"Cut myself with the shears." The black man apologized, pointing at his hand.

Delphine, who had wound her way into the kitchen, gazed at him avidly. "Miss Cordelia, why don't you go and finish your breakfast, and I'll see to- James, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Cordelia stared her down._ See to him, will you?_ She paused. _I'll give him to you, for staying quiet thus far. And you'd better stay quiet, you got me?_

Delphine seemed to understand, and she shuffled off with the man, glee in her eyes.

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

Cordelia stood outside Misty's room, Queenie's Room, wringing her hands. Her shirt was tight across her back, as it was Madison's, but she floated in Misty's floral print skirt.

_How the hell do you ask a girl if she knows your secrets?_ "Hey Queenie, did Nan happen to mention that I'm fucking my girls?"

_No._

_I can't do that._

_Start it off slow, Delia. Ask how's she feeling. Make her feel welcome. You don't like her but that doesn't mean you can't be civil._

_Right?_

_Fuck this. I need to know._

She knocked lightly and entered the room. "Queenie? I thought we should talk."_Do you know? Do you know? Do you know?_ She could swear she could smell Misty in the room. She could swear she could smell the sex. "First of all, I'm very glad you're back."

"Yeah? Then why'd you give my room away?"

_What kind of question is that? You left. What'd you expect._

"You left us. And you went across town to our sworn enemy." _I'm not proud of everything I've done, but I don't change camps, you little-_

"Who is right now in your guest room smoking a hookah. Things around here change fast, but damn."

Cordelia frowned, searching for her words. "A lot has happened." _Yeah. That works. I can keep the details to myself._

"Yeah, your husband shot me in the stomach."

_And the asshole managed to NOT make it a clean shot. I swear__._ "To say I'm sorry doesn't begin-"

"Yeah, it really doesn't."

_Actually, I'm sorry he missed. Really, really sorry. I wouldn't have to deal with you right now. Goddammit. Do. You. Know. Just fucking tell me._ "Queenie. You are a very strong and powerful young woman. But how did you survive?"

She watched as the black witch threw Misty's things down on the floor, the last of her clothes that she'd stuffed into the closet days before, what hadn't fit, what hadn't made it, into Cordelia's own room. Miffed, the alchemist stepped closer and bent down to pick up the shawls gingerly, smelling Misty all over them. Her lower body clenched involuntarily.

She'd add the clothes to her magpie stash.

"Turns out I got some new powers. I shot him right through my skull." The voodoo threw a bullet at Cordelia, who caught it easily. _Oh, disgusting__._ But nothing. No vision.

"He shot you with this?"

"Yes, and I survived." The girl replied smugly. "I'm starting to think I might be the next Supreme. Not even a silver bullet can stop me."

_Excuse me while I laugh up a lung_. "Thank you." Cordelia reached out, trying to get into Queenie's head, but the girl pushed her away.

"Don't touch me."

"My eyes are open." The headmistress countered. "And I promise I'm going to prove that to you and the girls." _Nan didn't tell you anything, did she. You'd be all over Marie and Fiona if she had. You wouldn't be entertaining me right now if you knew._

"No offense, but since I left, one witch is dead and another one is missing. You are just as weak as you've ever been. Might want to take one long-ass vacation. Let somebody else run this joint for a while. Now, get out."

_Weak? Honey, you have no idea. How dare you mention Madison. Misty. Misty, I need to find Misty._

Cordelia turned away, headed for the door, but glanced over her shoulder, fingers tight around the swamp witch's shawls.

_You'll be the first to die after this mess is over. Count on it._

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

_I need to find Misty._

Her fingers grasped onto the island before her as she blinked rapidly. I need to find Misty.

_Who knows where she could be? Who knows what she could be saying to random strangers?_

_If the police comes tonight, it'll be for me._

_I need to find Misty. I need to save myself._

Cordelia Foxx knew that when Madison had gone missing, she hadn't reacted like this. She hadn't begged for everyone to find her, hadn't brought attention to herself. But that was because there was no chance of the young telekinetic talking. The dirty blonde wouldn't say anything, afraid of losing the one good thing that had happened to her.

_Because let's be honest, I am the best thing that's happened to her._

But the swamp witch, she didn't quite know yet. The actress had been around for years, Cordelia knew her moods and her actions and her thoughts, but Misty Day had only been around a week, two tops. She hadn't delved into her mind yet.

_Perhaps if I play Stevie loud enough, she'll come crawling back._

_Crawling back._

_She thinks she loves me, she loves me._

And Cordelia knew that Misty wouldn't just leave, not like that, not without saying something to the headmistress first. She'd laid down the rules, she was to say where she was, when, with whom, at all times.

_Something must be wrong. And if someone asks, she's naive enough to say that she's lost her way, that she's lost me. And when she finds me, when _they_find me, I'll be sent away._

Her dark eyes were on the shears on the table.

_I've lost my Sight, but I can have it again._

Had she ever done anything so drastic for any other girl? The metal was cold to the touch, and it sent shivers down her spine.

Her first girl. _Theresa_. A little thing, nine years old, the first student under her care, the first year she'd started as the academy's headmistress, fresh out of witch school. _She died. You were careless and she was too young and she she died. _Cordelia could almost see the bright green eyes, smell the bubblegum she loved to buy on Sundays when they shopped.

And then there had been Cassandra. _Sweet sweet Cassie_. The one who loved music, music when it involved teenage boys. Cordelia had inched closer and closer to her at that concert, the night she'd decided to take her, both in protection from the others and in an attempt to brush up against the pre-teen._She wasn't very tall__,_ she remembered, she barely made it to my shoulder. But she hadn't complained as her hand played with the side of the girl's thigh, her index rubbing soothing circles into her flesh. The blue eyed girl had gazed up, wondering, and Cordelia had shrugged. _It's a sign of affection. It means we're friends_. And she'd continued. Her hand had reached higher until she felt her fingers flitting with Cassandra's and had taken them between her own.

And Cordelia had been bold. She'd leaned in and pressed a kiss on the girl's hair, lingering there as she smelled vanilla shampoo, as the girl's fingers involuntarily clenched around hers.

She shuddered as she remembered Ashley. Fourteen years old and as stubborn as an ox. _Yet so delightful__._ Whatever she asked for, she got, received, with a bow added for flourish. Vain attempts by Cordelia to really get to her. It'd taken a little longer to crawl into her bed, but when she finally did, it had well been worth the wait. Her first blonde.

And when she'd saucily told Cordelia that she didn't want to play around anymore, that she was done, that she had _a__ boyfriend back home_, the headmistress had snapped.

As easily as the girl's bones had.

She hadn't died then. No, she'd managed to crawl out onto the front lawn, gasping for air, weakly calling out for help as her knees burned and as her fingers failed to respond. The first slap had sent her tumbling down the stairs. It was the least gruesome of the headmistress's actions.

Hank had come home at precisely that moment. As he came up the driveway drunkenly, Cordelia came out of the house, eyes on fire.

Seeing Hank, Ashley's face had brightened past the pain as she called out his name brokenly. But he'd gazed up at Cordelia, measuring her anger, the trouble they could be in, the trouble they were in. And as she realized, Ashley began to cry again. He had yanked her by the hair, dragged her back inside.

Her parents still hoped she'd come home one day.

Her first time with Madison hadn't been loving, or naive. It'd been frantic. They'd had a fight whilst shopping and as soon as they'd stepped into the academy, it'd been grappling hands and furious kisses from there. Madison, darling Madison, had screamed her name against the door. Then gasped it out in the kitchen. All the way up the stairs and into the headmistress's room.

They hadn't left the bed unless they had to. Water and food were a must, but so was Madison's sore throat, her soft cries, her bruising fingers.

_I'd been ready to leave, to lose, everything for her._

Cordelia couldn't guess how many sleepless nights they'd spent together. How many lunches were burnt while she'd been too busy laying the girl over the counter.

She didn't want to guess, to know. Those girls were the past. And if she didn't find the swamp witch, she wouldn't have a future. She wouldn't have memories. It'd be game over for them all.

She raised the shears to her eyes.

_I have to find Misty._


	12. Chapter 12

**Rated M for so many reasons.**

**Music: Happy Together (The Great Gatsby Version)**

_Imagine me and you, I do / __I think about you day and night, it's only right / __To think about the girl you love and hold her tight / __So happy together_

**—**

Cordelia awoke to a sharp pain throbbing through her entire skull. Lying in the hospital bed when she was first blinded, she thought that the acid burning through her skin would be the worst pain she would ever have to suffer through. But now, compared to what she felt pounding at her eyes, that was nothing. Child's play. Cordelia could swear that every nerve ending in her eyes was on fire.

Even worse were the thoughts that came to her while she attempted to sleep off some of the migraine she felt coming on. Madison plagued her mind, the way she demanded more from Cordelia than any other girl. She had never been forgiving or innocent. She had just been young and desperate and Cordelia had been thirsting for another girl ever since Ashley. The headmistress grimaced as she remembered the way Madison would dig the toe of her heels into Cordelia's leg when she got jealous, the way she would personally attack girls she saw Cordelia look at for a second too long. Madison was harsh as a lover and as a student and _shit_, could that girl hold a grudge.

It became painfully clear that Madison could have had something to do with Misty's disappearance.

So Cordelia wrenched herself from the bed and found herself wandering down the hall into Madison's room.

"Madison?" She called. "I need your help."

"Jesus, Cordelia, you look like shit."

The familiar smell of the girl drifted towards Cordelia and memories of long nights and days alone in the Academy came rushing back.

"I can't believe you did that to yourself," Madison continued.

_You bitch. Considering the way you looked when you were brought back to life, you shouldn't be talking._

_I could still have you if I wanted you, and we both know it._

_Eyes or no, I'm still the best you've ever had._

Cordelia pushed the thoughts from her mind. At this point, Madison was worth more to her as an ally than an enemy.

"I've been in Misty's room trying to see something," Cordelia explained. "I've held her boots, hair from her brush. Nothing."

"I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but…" Madison paused. Cordelia could practically _feel_ the smirk growing on her face. "Maybe she's gone."

"Or maybe the gift of my Sight hasn't come back," Cordelia breathed. Panicked, hurried thoughts rushed through her mind. _Did I sacrifice my eyes for nothing? Look like this for nothing? _In her desperation, Cordelia reached out for Madison. She felt the familiar heat of her body, the tension in her muscles, then…nothing.

"Woah! That was cool!" Madison laughed. "I did transmutation. I didn't even have to think about it. It just happened."

Cordelia fumed. The last thing she needed was Madison believing she was the Supreme. _She's stubborn enough already._

"I wouldn't read too much into it, Madison," she droned in response. "You can manifest multiple powers and not be the Supreme. Our powers always spike in times of crisis. This is one of those times."

Cordelia followed the sound of Madison's breathing and the smell she knew all too well to the doorway. Madison hadn't moved since she teleported and Cordelia could hear her trying to uiet her breathing, desperately trying to shake the headmistress from her path.

"Madison, I need to touch you," Cordelia demanded.

"Tell the truth, Cordy, you into girls now?" Madison mocked.

"The last time I touched you, I saw things," Cordelia asserted. "What are you afraid I might see? Nothing in this house stays secret for very long, Madison."

_ At least not from me._

"It will come to light whether you want it to or not," Cordelia finished.

"I don't have any secrets," Madison mumbled.

Cordelia opened her arms to the girl. "Then walk over here."

Madison's heels clicked on the hardwood floors as she advanced towards Cordelia. The sound sent chills down her spine, triggering images of things she would never forget.

"Knock yourself out," Madison told her. "Boom, boom."

Cordelia laid a hand on Madison's shoulder, bracing herself for the pain of her vision.

Nothing.

Cordelia desperately touched every part of skin Madison had left exposed. Her fingers scrambled from her shoulders to her face and down her arm.

"Aw," Madison cooed.

_Oh God, Misty. Misty, how am I going to find you?_

Cordelia's mind jumped from Misty to realizing she was without a girl yet again, to the fact that too many people within the house knew her secrets, back to Misty and how little time they had together. She clung to Madison's hand, begging with every muscle in her body for just a few seconds with her familiar touch. Anything to calm her. Anything to ground her.

Madison violently tore her hand away from Cordelia.

—

"Goddamn it, Mother," Cordelia hissed as she worked her way into Fiona's bedroom. "What's this I hear about Queenie performing the Seven Wonders on Sunday?"

Fiona's obsession had only escalated since that night at the bar and since Madison's death. When she wasn't off with the Axeman doing who knows what, she was forcing the girls into her own mindset, pitting them against each other and forcing them to cast spells girls their age should never be trying.

Not that Cordelia was complaining. Without her realizing it, Fiona had become her greatest ally. A better ally than Myrtle, even. Previously, Myrtle had always been the one to bail Cordelia out, but nowadays, Fiona not only got herself out of the house but distracted every other member of the Academy, and Cordelia was left to do whatever she wanted.

_ If only Misty were here._

"Cordelia, please. Maybe we could be kind to another for a change, huh?"

Cordelia felt her jaw tighten and her teeth grind against each other. _Be kind to another for a change?_

Cordelia used to try. God, would she try. By the time she was twelve, the way Fiona treated her started to wear away at her mental health. When Fiona didn't bring a man home, she spent the night yelling at cordelia for the way she was dressed, or her grades, or her friends, or even what she ate that day. Whatever she could sink her claws into. So Cordelia tried to be perfect. Befriend only the best, be the top witch in her class, make sure Fiona never saw her eating or sleeping lest she find something wrong with that, too. Say please and thank you, do extra chores, work without complaining. Be _kind_. And it worked for a while. Fiona stayed off her back and didn't find any reason to raise her voice.

But within a few weeks, Fiona began to lash out again. She began to make things up about Cordelia, accuse her of things she hadn't done. So Cordelia gave up. Let Fiona do her own thing.

Kindness was never her strong point after that.

"My God, look at you," Fiona continued. "My beautiful little girl."

Cordelia's jaw tightened further. _Beautiful. What do you want from me now, Fiona? Because we both know you don't mean it._

"Did you really think self-mutilation would restore your power?"

"Right up until I tried it," Cordelia answered.

"You cannot lose your power. You never will. It's inside of you," Fiona started. Cordelia could have sworn she heard sobs breaking through Fiona's words. Had her newfound mortality changed her? Had death gotten to her? "And it is not something I gave to you. As much as I'd like to, I cannot take credit for that. It's all you."

Cordelia felt tears pricking at the backs of her own eyes. Had she truly realized what she did was wrong?

"You are just full of surprises, Fiona Goode, you know that?" Cordelia choked out. Maybe this was her chance with her mother. Maybe she could even make her an ally.

"Well, I have one more," Fiona said. Cordelia could hear her rustling through something nearby. "It's from the vault."

"What is it?"

"It was my mother's. Her most precious heirloom."

Cordelia felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead. "Grandmother's necklace?"

Truly, she had never thought Fiona would pass the heirloom on. She thought Fiona would want to be buried in it, selfish as she was. Anything to keep it away from Cordelia. What was _happening_ to her?

"Do you remember?" She asked, finally failing to hold back her tears. "When I was a little girl, I used to gaze up at her wearing this necklace. Thinking to myself, _I will never grow to be that transcendent_."

Cordelia used to look at her mother the same way. Before it went bad. When she was eight years old, she used to toy with the necklace, watching as her mother applied her makeup and put on her heels. Even at that age, she had grown to feel so plain, to feel as though she would never be as beautiful or as commanding as her mother.

"I know the feeling well."

"Here, take it," Fiona offered. Her sobs were less disguised now, more prominent as she spoke.

Cordelia realized what this meant. The passing of the necklace meant the passing of Fiona. her time was coming to an end. Was that why she had changed?

"You're saying goodbye," Cordelia breathed.

She felt the necklace drag against her fingers, then fall off as Fiona jerked it away. Cordelia felt every false hope her mother had given her in these last minutes fall away with it.

"Yes, I am."

_Shit. You really never changed, did you? You never could and you never will._

"And I mean it this time. We both knew it was coming." Fiona continued, stifling the last of her emotion and standing. Cordelia tried desperately to follow the sound of her heels on the floor as Fiona circled around her towards her back. "Here, let me put it on you."

Cordelia felt Fiona's hands brush against her neck as she fastened the necklace. At first, there was nothing. The usual pain behind her eyes and her aching head and just blackness. But as soon as the necklace's pendant made contact with her skin, she was thrown into a hazy vision of the Academy.

It wasn't painful like the other visions. It wasn't something she didn't want to see, like Myrtle being burnt or Hank fucking Kaylee. It was something she _did._

Madison's body was first. Cordelia heard choking, desperate screams as she walked towards the girl, blood flowing down onto the first floor from her neck, which was punctured with the banister.

_Good. She's finally out of my hair. That's what the bitch gets for not helping me._

Cordelia paused as she walked past the body. She'd seen that look in her eyes many times before. That emptiness. It was nothing new for Madison.

_The shirt's still good…_

Cordelia considered reaching down and taking it before realizing other screams echoed through the house.

_Zoe._ A spike through the heart. Fitting for a bleeding heart, a soft girl who was constantly shying away from the darkness in the Academy. _God, it's almost romantic_. And though she looked just as sweet and innocent and beautiful as she did in life, Cordelia couldn't help but continue celebrating. Another girl removed from the equation meant more safety for the headmistress as she pursued her girls.

More anguished screams rang from downstairs.

_Queenie_. Spike down the throat, maybe some part of the banister. _Serves her right_. All the poisonous words that came out of her mouth, the power her voice would have against Cordelia, everything — it was all silenced by that spike.

Cordelia felt herself smiling. She was never one to fantasize about killing. Other things, maybe, but death just seemed to happen when it needed to. Theresa and Ashley were accidental. Madison was incidental. But something about the scene that unfolded before her was so _perfect_. It was poetic justice for getting in the way of Cordelia's projects and in the way of her relationships.

Until she saw Misty's body.

Misty, her Misty, lying stretched out on the piano. Blood flowed from her stomach and dripped onto the floor, her arm hanging limp just above the pool of blood forming. Cordelia's mind screamed in protest, crying out for the girl who could never say no. The girl who blushed so sweetly at every touch. The girl who was still out somewhere in the world putting Cordelia in danger.

The girl she needed back.

Cordelia felt the tension in her shoulders build, frustrated tears forming in her eyes as her mind jumped backwards to Ashley. The first who had the nerve to leave her. It was as if that night, she was somebody else. Cordelia remembered nothing but limp arms and pools of blood.

_And those kneecaps._

_And those screams._

Cordelia wiped the tears from her eyes angrily.

_It was her fault anyway. Fuck her for thinking she wasn't mine._

Cordelia suddenly felt a sharp pain in her forehead and a pull from somewhere behind her. She turnedquickly and, through her pain, felt herself praying to see Fiona's body as mangled as the others.

But instead, she saw herself.

Blood poured from the fresh bullet wound on her forehead as she laid uselessly on the ground. Cordelia kneeled next to her own body. Slowly, she reached out to cradle her own head. It lolled weakly in her hand, her swollen eyes pale.

Cordelia felt her heart pounding through her chest as her mind raced. _Me? Why me?_

She wanted so badly to call out to herself. To make herself wake up. But she was at a total loss for words, because her own name could never fit the body lying heavily in her arms.

The pain mirroring her body's fatal wound grew stronger and stronger and familiar darkness began to cloud her vision. Cordelia clawed desperately at herself, knotting her fists into her hair. _No, no, I can't leave while I'm like this. I can't let myself be this weak!_

Through that darkness came only one sound: the clicking of high heels against stone.

_Fiona._

"What's the matter?" Fiona asked, breaking through her vision.

Cordelia jumped at the sound of her mother's voice, blood still running cold after what she had seen. Panic began to prod at her mind as she realized that Fiona could never know what she had just seen. Or else it could never be stopped.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

—

Cordelia followed the smell of cheap cologne towards the Axeman's apartment.

_Fiona._

Her cane clicked against the floors, tapping against the thin walls as the stench grew stronger.

_She thinks she can take all that away from me? She thinks she can take Misty? I'll take him from her. Turn him against her._

_I'll take everything._

She forced the apartment door open.

"Just because you witches can open the locks with your hocus-pocus it doesn't make it polite," he growled. "A man shouldn't be disturbed when he's playing with his instrument."

Cordelia stared into the void towards his voice. It still sent tremors down her spine. No matter how much she tried to forget it, Cordelia could hear his enraged screams echoing through her room in her nightmares. She could only hope and pray that he didn't remember that night. What she said to him. How much he wanted to kill her.

Death, to say the least, wasn't a comfortable topic for Cordelia.

"You don't have your mother's features."

Cordelia froze. "You know who I am?"

"Oh, yes, of course," the Axeman answered easily. "We spent uite an evening together."

_Change the subject. Change the subject._

"It's not safe to love my mother, you know," Cordelia deadpanned. "I speak from experience. She can't love anyone but herself."

Cordelia felt the Axeman turn to face her, his breath on her face.

It reeked of alcohol.

"I'm sure the transcendence of my relationship with your mother is hard for you to understand. But I'm happy that she told you about us."

Cordelia scoffed. "She didn't tell me about anything. I saw everything." She moved closer, forcing him to take a step back. _Good. You should be afraid._ Cordelia felt a weight lift from her shoulders as she realized that despite his display earlier, he was terrified of her.

"And she's going to kill all of us and leave you behind, too."

The Axeman didn't respond. There was absolutely nothing from the darkness around her. No sound, no shifting of weight, only the Axeman's ragged, drunken breaths.

"She's not going to run away with you. Whatever fantasy you have about who she is and what you are to her, it's all bullshit," Cordelia spat. "She used you. All she does is use people."

Cordelia pulled a plane ticket from her pocket. _The real kicke_r. A one-way ride out of the country. She held it out towards the Axeman's breathing and, after a few seconds, smirked at the way his breathing halted when he read it.

"It's nothing. It's just a piece of paper," he begged. "It's light as air."

"You think she might have let you know that you were leaving town that soon. I don't suspect you have a passport ready," Cordelia continued. _That's what you get for trying to kill me. That's what she gets for trying to kill me. You two morons deserve whatever's coming to you._ "She's going to regain her power, and when she does, she's not going to waste her time on some halfway decent musician in a $12 suit."

Cordelia could hear the floor creak as the Axeman sat down nearby. His breathing never returned to its normal levels. And, if she listened closely, the headmistress could have sworn she heard the beginning of sobs forming in his throat.

She kneeled down next to the man.

"You feel that? That empty, heartbroken feeling?" She asked. "That's what it feels like to get close to Fiona."

—

"You mean, just me, and I don't have a jackhammer."

_Fucking idiot._

"Stop being so literal and remember who you are. When the rest of the world sees a wall, we see a window." Cordelia snapped.

Queenie sighed at her and she felt the air around them change as magick flowed from the voodoo witch's fingers. She heard stone crack, and couldn't help but feel giddy.

"That's it, keep going." She encouraged, her voice threatening to break.

There was one last angry crack and Cordelia stepped back as something exploded before her. She felt something wooden hit her shoes and she bent down, her fingers running up the seams of a coffin. Queenie opened it with a groan.

"Is she alive?" The headmistress's voice died in the night.

"Hard to tell. Misty?" There was a pause. "She's not breathing."

"Okay." Cordelia's head swam. _No no no_. "Okay. Vitalum Vitalis."

She listened intently as the black girl muttered over Misty's body, and she felt herself helping Queenie, giving her that much more magick. _Bring her back to me._

There was a loud gasp and the headmistress felt a woosh of air as the swamp witch sat up abruptly, coughing her lungs out. Queenie stepped back, feeling dizzy, and Cordelia's fingers shifted to tangle in Misty's hair.

"I'll help her, Queenie. Go rest in the car for now."

Queenie walked away, muttering under her breath as Cordelia found Misty's waist and helped her stand, listening to her pant and gasp in much needed air.

"Are you okay?" The headmistress asked softly, her fingers finding anchor in the necromancer's hair, trying to feel her, the life inside of her. Misty nodded, her errant curls shaking against Cordelia's skin, but she didn't respond. The older blonde tugged on a strand. "Answer me, Misty."

"Yes, yes I'm alright."

"You scared me."

She felt Misty look down at her, and suddenly the swamp witch's fingers were resting on her jaw line. "What did ya do?" She asked breathlessly.

"I had to find you." She clung on to Misty's sides. She felt the younger blonde's fingers trail up her face, and she fought the urge to rip herself away. _I can't scare her away._

Misty's mouth was on hers sweetly and she tasted death on her lips, but Cordelia didn't mind.

She'd felt her way around the graveyard. She knew it now.

She figured Queenie was far enough.

She pushed Misty hard until her back was against the cold stone of a long forgotten grave and attacked her lips, her hands roaming to settle on the taller girl's breasts, tugging on a stiffening nipple. Misty gasped out but let her, her own hands tentatively settling on her lower back as she shuddered against the headmistress's touch.

"I've missed you." Cordelia admitted against her neck, and she smiled softly as she felt goosebumps run up and down Misty's frame.

"Here?"

"What?"

Misty nuzzled her neck, her fingers becoming hard against the headmistress's skin. "Are we goin' to do this here?" She asked, practically growling.

_You've grown a spine. Do I like it?_

She felt a sharp nip against her collarbone.

_Yes._

"No." _Yes yes yes._ "No, we can't." _Oh but I want to._

_You're mine everywhere._

Misty's blunt nails raked up the back of her thighs, and Cordelia let out a hiss against the necromancer's cheek. Her own hands ran down the front of Misty's taut stomach, the muscles under her skin twitching there.

_She was just dead, and she's ready. If that's not dedication to me…_

Her fingers found their way past the loose waistband of the girl's skirt and she flirted with the goosebumps there as Misty arched into her, back grazing against cold stone. She cupped her center and found it wet against the palm of her hand.

She leaned into the necromancer, her breath tickling the swamp witch's ear. "Were you thinking about me in there?"

"Every minute." Misty breathed out, urging Cordelia to go further.

"You're going to have to wait a little longer."

The headmistress pushed off the younger blonde and regained her balance, waiting for Misty to follow her, but there wasn't anything but heavy breathing from the girl's direction.

"Misty?"

"No, no ya don't do this to me."

Cordelia scowled. "Misty, let's go."

She felt a sharp tug and suddenly she was thrown against the surface the swamp witch had just been on. She let out a sharp gasp at the sensation, at the sheer power the girl emitted, and she couldn't help the moan that escaped from between her lips as she felt Misty's tongue against her jaw.

Misty's fingers scrambled to find their way beneath the hem of Cordelia's dress, and she let her head fall forward, defeated. "Why is it always tights with ya? I can't rip through your tights. You'll get angry." She added, more to herself.

Cordelia shuddered in her grip as her hands anchored in the girl's tresses. "Later." She growled. "Later I swear to you."

Misty found her mouth, kissing her deeply, with fervor, with abandon, and she pulled away to whisper, whimper. "I want ya now." She pushed against the alchemist, who hissed up at her, standing on her tip toes.

"Misty, no."

The necromancer pushed her hard against the stone, and she let out another moan despite herself. The pain was just too good.

"Mist-"

"Is that your voice breakin'?"

_She's getting cheeky._

_I've got to rein her in._

_I'm in charge here._

She kissed Misty hard, her nails raking down the back of the girl's skull as her tongue dove deep into the girl's mouth, as Misty fell down against her, her knees buckling.

"Get me home."

—

"You bitch!"

Cordelia heard the sickening crack of Misty's hand on Madison's cheek and the resulting cry Madison let out.

"You thought I was some dumb swamp rat you could leave behind to die?" She continued.

"Um, yes?"

Cordelia choked back a bitter laugh. _Always one to play tough, weren't you?_

Another crack. Another cry.

"Girls, stop these vulgar fisticuffs at once. It's beneath us," Myrtle warned, but Misty continued to go after Madison. "Cordelia?"

"I'm good," Cordelia answered.

After all, hearing her current girl beat the shit out of her ex, if that was even the correct word, was oddly satisfying. The sound of skin against skin, the cries Madison let out as she was hit…Cordelia could have listened for hours.

"I don't want to waste my magic on you," Misty spat. "I can do you with my hands!"

Cordelia smirked._ She's learned a thing or two from me._

Cordelia heard a body hit the wall hard and Madison screaming in protest. Internally, she cheered Misty on. Something about the fight for dominance left Cordelia breathless.

"You hit like a girl!" Madison cried.

Another slap in response, then the sound of limbs scrambling as they hit the floor and Madison groaning in pain.

"This is awesome!" Queenie yelled.

Maybe she's not as bad as I thought.

"No it's not! Stop!" Zoe yelled.

_No. Please don't._

"Come on," Misty drawled. "Get up, Hollywood."

Punches were being thrown left and right, girls left scrambling on the floor and Misty's grunts reverberating through the house as she doled out her beating. Cordelia listened as intently as she could for the whimpers and moans that the fight brought out of her two girls, as well as the satisfying sounds of contact between the two.

Cordelia almost wanted to get in there with them. Or between them.

Suddenly, a booming voice broke through the chaos.

"You! You must pay for what you've done!"

Madison groaned as she stood.

"Wow, did you walk into the wrong house," she taunted.

And before Cordelia could register what was happening, she felt herself — and the others — throw the intruder across the room and into the stairs with a sickening thump.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Queenie demanded.

"I know that voice…" Cordelia realized. "It's the Axeman."

"I'll kill all of you!" The Axeman screamed. Cordelia could hear him struggling to stand, holding onto the loose banister and sliding down a few steps. _Pathetic. As always._

"Is that blood?" Myrtle asked.

"Not his," Misty answered.

"Then whose?"

Cordelia bent and felt along the floor until her hand made contact with the blood the Axeman had trailed along the floors. Still warm.

_How could you do this to me?_ A voice rang through her head. A voice all too familiar, a voice that would mock her for hours as a child.

Cordelia's legs gave out underneath her and she found herself sitting lamely on the floor. "This blood is my mother's."

A laugh threatened to force its way out. Just like that, her mother was gone. Better yet, she was killed off by one of her suitors. Cordelia used to lie in bed dreaming of a day that would happen, a day that Fiona would never come home.

_Of all my fantasies to come true._

"Holy shit," Madison breathed. "So she's really gone?"

There was a long silence.

"Does anybody feel any different?" Madison continued, her voice shaking with desperation.

_God, you are so much like Fiona. The first thing you think about is your powers. I'm so glad I let you go. In fact, maybe you should join her now._

Cordelia felt the others in the room shifting their weight, cracking their knuckles, fidgeting. Everyone stared down at the man hunkered over in the middle of the room.

"Okay…" Queenie broke the silence. "So who wants to do it? Somebody's gotta kill this creep."

The headmistress heard a body being dragged along the floor.

"Come on, come on," Kyle growled. "I'll kill him, I'm the Coven guard dog."

"No," Madison interrupted. "I'll do it."

"We really don't need a man to protect us," Misty added.

Cordelia jumped as she heard metal slicing through the air and flesh being pierced.

—

Cordelia found herself heading down the hallway at around 3am to the sound of the shower running.

_One._

She had been lying in bed for hours, thinking about finding Misty in the cemetery.

_Two._

About finding her pale and lifeless in that coffin.

_Three._

About how she wanted to kiss the life back into her, kiss back all the warmth and innocence death had taken away.

_This one._

Finally, Cordelia reached Misty's door and maneuvered her way through the space between the door and the doorframe.

"Miss Cordelia?" Misty called through the darkness. "Is that you?"

"Of course," Cordelia answered, relieved it wasn't Misty in the shower._ Or should I be disappointed?_"Why are you still awake?"

A whimper echoed through the room. Not the type of whimper Cordelia was used to, but the quiet, high-pitched cry that came before sobs.

Cordelia rushed towards the sound and found herself on Misty's bed.

"What's wrong with you?"

Misty's weight shifted.

"You can trust me, Misty, remember?"

"Jesus, I…" Misty cut herself off to choke back a sob. "I killed him."

"I know, baby." Cordelia inched towards Misty. The heat and rage and fear emanating from Misty drew her in like a magnet and Cordelia had to fight herself with every muscle in her body to keep her hands away.

"Cordelia…"

_The way she says my name._

"Hmm?" Cordelia murmured.

Misty reached out to put her hand on top of Cordelia's. "I did it for you."

Cordelia felt chills crawl down her spine and her breathing uicken. Through her excitement, Cordelia managed to smile through the darkness towards Misty's voice. "Good girl, Misty."

"I listened to you, you know," Misty said quietly. "When you said we should protect each other."

_I'm honestly surprised you remember what I said that night. Not even I do_.

"I'm glad you did, Misty." Cordelia offered her other hand to Misty, who took it eagerly. "Because I'm the only one who knows what's best for you."

"I know, Miss Cordelia."

Cordelia felt Misty's hands tighten around hers and Cordelia could feel blood caked on them, as thick as the mud there when they first met.

"You haven't showered?" Cordelia asked, running a thumb along Misty's hand.

"No, I—"

"Maybe you should," Cordelia taunted, pulling Misty closer until their faces were inches from each other.

"M-Miss Cordelia," Misty stuttered out. "Your promise…"

Cordelia forced back a chuckle. _So innocent_. "I'm making good on it now."

Misty leaned forward and Cordelia could feel the swamp witch's teary smile on her own lips. Cordelia's mind jumped back to the sound of the shower echoing through the halls, then back to the Axeman almost taking her life, and realized that there was nothing more to wait for. No time for that. _Take no prisoners._

Cordelia pushed Misty back towards the headboard blindly, their foreheads pressed together, both breathing heavily.

"I don't make empty promises," Cordelia lied onto Misty's lips as she tore at her layers. _God, so many layers._

"I know, Miss Cordelia," Misty breathed out between gasps. "I know you wouldn't."

Cordelia finally captured Misty's lips in a kiss that was anything but sweet, anything but pure. Death had changed Misty. And unlike Madison's change, Cordelia liked this one.

Suddenly, the shower turned off.

"Misty?" Queenie called out from the bathroom. "Shower's open, I'll be out in a second."

Cordelia scrambled away from Misty in the darkness, but Misty clawed at her arms.

"Please," she begged. "Please, you promised."

"Another time, Misty." Cordelia fumbled for her cane as she climbed off of the bed, Misty still digging her nails into one of the headmistress' arms.

"Why?" Misty demanded.

"Why _what_?" Cordelia snapped.

"Why can't they know?"

The door to the bathroom opened.

"Later, Misty. I promise."

And she went just like she came: like a shadow, darkening everything in its wake.


	13. Chapter 13

Co-written with the amazing Graceonce

**Rated M for so many reasons.**

**Music: House of the Rising Sun**

_Oh mother tell your children / __Not to do what I have done / __Spend your lives in sin and misery / __In the House of the Rising Sun / __And it's been the ruin of many a poor girl_

—-

Cordelia felt the air around her vibrate with fear, uncertainty, hate. She shifted in her seat, missing her eyes more than ever, she could practically _hear_ the four girls stare each other down.

Next to her, Myrtle spoke up.

"The great Leonardo da Vinci, who I'm certain was a warlock, although it's never been proven, in his masterpiece The Last Supper, depicted grilled eels, bread and wine on the table. I've chosen caviar from the Caspian Sea. Served on billinis. Along with champagne. As fitting stand-ins as we partake of our own last supper. For one of you, a last moment of freedom and anonymity before assuming the Supremacy. For any one of you others, possibly a last meal."

Cordelia pushed her fork around her plate, not caring much for what was served. She'd always hated caviar. But she'd downed her champagne already, and had motioned for Kyle, Spalding's new replacement, a spur of the moment decision by Myrtle, to refill her glass.

She took a deep breath. "Since the beginning of this coven, it has been every outgoing Supreme's duty to identify her successor. Which Fiona not only neglected to do, she actually tried to kill her successor."

_I call that a hassle. She went and died, and left all the work to me. How is that fair?_

"So we are doing something never done in our history. We are going to give all four of you the chance to prove yourselves. Only one of you will succeed."

_Wouldn't it be ironic if Zoe was the next Supreme? Meek Zoe? I have to stop Madison for sure. And Misty can't let it get to her head. Would the power get to her head? Queenie has no chance. Let's not even think about her. _

"To quote the Bible loosely 'When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I understood like a child, I thought like a child. But when I became a woman, I put aside childish things.' Childhood is over, my girls. Put aside fears, reservations and petty things. Kick ass tomorrow."

_Because I won't hold back._

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

Misty's breathing was coming out halted as she rode Cordelia's fingers in anger and fear and love, her nails digging deep into the headmistress's shoulders.

The alchemist kissed down her jaw, holding her up against her bedroom's door as best as she could, her wrist aching as she pumped in and out of the swamp witch, her teeth bared. Misty sagged against her, trying to get the headmistress to go as deep as she could.

Her fingers were long, but Misty always asked for more.

"Like that?" She suddenly hissed in the necromancer's ear. "Is this what you've wanted all week?"

"F-faster-"

Cordelia pushed up deep into her, but abruptly stopped. "Misty." She warned, breath coming out in pants from the exertion, from the strength it was taking her to stop exploring the girl.

"Cordelia-!" Misty cried out, her hold on the older woman's shoulders tightening. "Y-Ya owe me this much."

"I don't owe you anything." Cordelia snapped.

The wild blonde whined against her neck. "Ya do, ya do, ya promised me."

"If I want to take all night," The headmistress whispered back, moving her fingers back and forth, enjoying the broken moan that tumbled out from between Misty's lips. "I'll take all night." She paused, and her hand slipped out from between Misty's toned legs. "Get on the bed."

"Cor-"

"The bed."

Misty whimpered but did as she was told, her knees threatening to buckle beneath her. She laid back against the headboard, blue-green eyes watching Cordelia as she fumbled her way to the covers. She shivered, naked from the waist down, the headmistress still dressed. She wanted to rip it all off.

Her voice was weak, her lower belly pulsing. "Please."

"You want it fast? You're going to get it fast." Cordelia growled into her ear.

_I'm glad I kept my jeans on._

She parted Misty's legs roughly and after a quick flick of her thumb against the girl's clit, lowered herself onto the necromancer.

Misty hissed as her legs wrapped around Cordelia's thighs. She threw her head back and the headmistress dug into her, the fabric against her center riding against her own. The sensation hurt, but it just made her wetter.

Cordelia began a rhythm against her and she let a gasp tumble out. The girl's hands traveled down to her ass and hitched her up against her faster, harder.

"You like that?"

"Oh god."

Cordelia reached down and took Misty's lips into a bruising kiss, and she gasped as the necromancer suddenly threw her sideways to straddle her.

"Misty-"

"No, I want to." The wild blonde interrupted. Cordelia wished she could see, but her fingers against Misty's skin was enough for her visions to kickstart.

The girl's head was thrown back, hair tumbling down, as she rode her headmistress's seams.

Cordelia's hands wandered up and under her shirt, feeling the skin there, reaching her breasts, and Misty let out a small gasp as the older blonde tugged on her nipple. Her own hand reached up to cup Cordelia's through her clothes as her free one held on to her taut stomach.

The alchemist's hand retreated from her chest and reached down to flick at her clit, and Misty's head fell forward, her blunt nails grabbing hold of Cordelia by her ribs.

Misty rubbed herself raw against the alchemist, the older blonde urging her on, until she came, trembling above the headmistress.

She fell sideways onto the bed, breathing hard and suffering from her aftershocks, her fingers grasping at Cordelia and pulling her closer until she could wrap her arms around the older woman.

Cordelia passed her fingers through wild curls as she listened to the swamp witch's breathing slow down. And finally, the girl looked up at her, blue-green eyes full of wonder.

Cordelia could feel her eyes boring into her. "What is it?"

"I'm worried about the Seven Wonders tomorrow." Misty admitted quietly.

"I won't let anything happen to you."

"Ya promise?"

"I promise."

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

"What if I can't do it?" Misty blurted, her voice worried in the darkness of Cordelia's mind.

"Then you're not the Supreme."

_Please don't be the Supreme. You can't be the Supreme. If Myrtle was right, I will scream. And I will kick. And I will kill. You can't be the Supreme. I've got to reign you in. And I really don't want to get rid of you._

"And you can go back to your swamp."

Cordelia's head snapped to follow Madison's voice, and she scowled behind her glasses, knowing very well the young actress could see the glare, even if she didn't have eyelids, or eyeballs. Or a glare to speak of. She felt the girl squirm, and she let a wave of relief and pride surge through herself.

"Misty, you're first."

"Intention." Cordelia added. She heard the swamp witch _tssk_, obviously thinking of the times she'd said those words in the greenhouse.

And suddenly there was the noise of a candelabra being dragged across a wooden table.

"I did it, I did it!" The words were directed at Cordelia, and the headmistress had to stop herself from smiling.

Madison snapped. "Almost sounds like you want it."

"It's not about want." _Shut up. Shut up. Shut up_. "You either are or you aren't the Supreme."_How many times have I told you that, as I lay on your chest, as you traveled down my stomach, as I bit the inside of your thigh? Every time you asked, I told you that._

She heard Misty's smirk. "Maybe I am."

The four girls blew out their candles easily.

"Concilium."

Though she wanted to jump on Queenie for even _thinking_ of Misty's hair, Cordelia stayed on the sidelines, gritting her teeth as the two were pushed back and given space for Zoe and Madison.

She heard the telltale signs of lips fitting against lips, and she winced. _Who's kissing who?_Zoe easily answered her, and she felt her stomach heave as she realized Madison had brought Kyle to her side. She was taking revenge on Zoe, on Cordelia herself. The alchemist felt her hands itching, felt the back of her throat burning. She didn't hear them yelling at each other over the sounds of her internal screaming.

With a angry flick of her wrist, Cordelia sent Kyle flying into the wall, angrily ripping him from Madison's embrace.

"That's enough." She snapped, almost more for herself and for Madison than anyone else. "Let's move on."

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

Cordelia's heart was racing. The girls had been in descendum for almost an hour, and as she heard the sand tick by (she couldn't stop, with her eyesight gone, all her senses were on overdrive), she began to fidget. _Who's coming back? Who's not?_

"You're the first to return." Myrtle's voice was piercing in her ears.

_Who? Who? The suspense is killing me. It's killing me. Speak up._

Queenie's voice was rough, hoarse against her. "Damn." The voodoo witch coughed. "I saw the same people in the same line for the same chicken."

_Should have stayed._

She ripped at the skin against her thumb as she bit her lower lip to blood. She listened to the grains fall. Ten minutes. Twenty. Another hour's gone by. _Are they stuck? Are they stuck? Please say they're-_

"It was horrible."

Madison had gasped back to life, sat up abruptly, and Cordelia felt her lungs tighten.

"I was stuck on a network musical. It was a live version of The Sound of Music. I wasn't even the lead. I was Liesl."

_That's your hell? I'm impressed. You're a better liar than I thought. Maybe, maybe you did become a good actress after all. Cordelia's thoughts turned murderous. I was there. Wasn't I. I was there and you know it and you're too scared to say anything still. Coward._

_Coward._

"What happened to you?"

"Kyle and I kept breaking up. On a loop. He said he didn't love me. Over and over." Zoe took a deep breath, voice rattling. "Over and over."

She heard Kyle scramble to Zoe's side.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm right here. I'm right here, it's okay." His words were chopped, his voice laden with tears, even though he'd done nothing but stand.

_Don't show your weakness, your love for her, boy, she'll feed off of it._ Cordelia's jaws tightened._And leave you._

_Ashley._

"Are we all back?" Her voice was thick.

"Everyone but Misty."

_Misty. No. No no no. If she's gone who will I find? Who will I visit and cherish and-_

Cordelia scrambled to the swamp witch's side, hands reaching out to feel a shawl, wild hair, anything. She felt cold skin against hers and dragged the necromancer onto her lap, fingers sifting through her hair.

"We have to help her."

Myrtle's voice was cold, finality brimming her words. "There's nothing we can do. She has to get back on her own." _It's over Cordelia. Let her go._

"Misty, follow my voice. We are all here waiting for you. Sequere lucem. Venite ad me."

_But maybe it's better this way. Maybe Myrtle's right. Myrtle's always right._  
_And now, she won't ever be able to talk, will she?_

_Because she might have, when she grew older, and began to understand. She's not an idiot. She would have understood._

Cordelia's incantations became weaker as she deliberately put less magick into her words, as she felt the girl's soul slip through her fingers.

_She would leave._

And with one last half hearted try, she let go. She let Misty go.

"Her time is up."

Misty was gone. She'd drifted through her fingers like sand on a beach, and she was gone. Dying. Dying. Dead.

Cordelia didn't know what her tears for, whether it was for Misty herself, or for the idea of her. The idea of her love. All she knew was that she was crying, and that her tears were falling to the carpet as the back of her eyes burned and as the girls around her watched. And she could feel Myrtle's cold gaze on hers, and she could feel Madison's burning one.

She looked up at where Myrtle was, and let out a shaky breath. The redhead seemed to understand, because her strong hands were on her frame and standing her up, walking her out and away from the scene. Her voice like golden silk in her ear, comforting her. _You'll find someone else. You always do._

She began to shake at the mere thought of trying again. Even though she knew she was good, even though she knew it wasn't hard,

_There was no one like Misty._

_So easy to love, so easy to manipulate, so beautiful. With her blue-green eyes and blonde hair-_

Cordelia's hands found Myrtle's as she let out a wrenched sob. _Like Ashley._

She suddenly sobered, her cries stopping, her hands still trembling. She could feel her mentor's gaze on hers, and she shook her head. _I'm okay. I always am. Let's go._

The salon was quiet when she got back, her cane tapping out randomly before her.

"Before we recommence, I would like to take a moment to remember our fallen sister witch, Misty Day."

She felt Madison bristle. "Can we get on with it? I didn't really know her that well."

"You're a stone cold bitch."

"When you play with fire, you get burned."

_And you know that, don't you? You knew it, you know it._

_You've been burned so many times._

"Let's get on with finding the new Supreme. The next task before our candidates is transmutation."

Cordelia stiffened as she felt a rush of wind by her ear, her hair lifting momentarily as she felt magick by her side.

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

"Madison, if you refuse this, then you don't deserve to be Supreme." Cordelina snapped. She'd had enough of this already. Zoe's body was already becoming cold to the touch.

"What's deserve got to do with any of this? You can't disqualify me. Either I'm Supreme or I'm not. And, obviously, I am. You know, I'm starting to think Fiona had the right idea, leaving this shit show behind. I'm thinking very seriously about doing the same thing."

The headmistress bristled. She felt Madison turn away, but she grabbed her arm before she could open the greenhouse's door.

"How dare you?"

The dirty blonde's eyes widened. "How dare _I_? _How dare I_?" She took a threatening step closer. "I _deserve_ this!" She snapped. "After all you did to me, after throwing me away, after all those _lies_-! _I deserve this_!"

"Is this what this is about? Your ego?" Cordelia hissed. "Two girls have _died_ and all you care about is yourself?"

"You cared about me before!" Madison yelled. "Why shouldn't I care about myself? Two girls have died and you stood by and did _nothing_! Just admit it, you don't care! About me, about them! If you did, you'd have at _least_ saved Misty."

"Madison-"

"Don't even try it, Foxxy. I saw you, I watched you, you let her die." She repeated bitterly. "You stood by and did _nothing_. And at this rate, I'm next. So let me be the Supreme, at least I'll be able to live a little bit."

"Live?" Cordelia asked, towering over her. "_Live?_ I _made_ you live!"

"You know what, I used to think so too, but then I died and I came back and you threw me away, and I realized something." Madison said coldly. "You used me. You took me and you used me and you never cared about me. I was _fifteen_, Miss Cordelia." She spat the authoritarial name with mock. "And at the time and three months ago I didn't realize that what you'd done was wrong, I've been used all my life, by my friends and by my parents but at least they never _threw_ me away, because they still needed me." She started yelling. "I was gone for barely a month and you'd already forgotten me! How is that fair to me?"

Cordelia raised her hand and it connected evenly with Madison's jaw.

The diva tittered and looked up, tears threatening to spill from her hazel eyes, but on her face was a look of rage. "You can bet your next pair of eyes that I'm not letting you get out of this unscathed, Cordelia. You'll pay, for letting me die. Once I'm Supreme, you're burning."

"You're threatening me?"

"I'm _telling_ you." Madison straightened herself and her fingers closed around the doorknob. "So either crown me or kiss my ass."

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

"Oh, I can't believe she was right. It was Madison all this time. My mother was always right." Cordelia passed a hand through her hair, frustrated. "What are we going to do, Myrtle? She'll burn me and she'll burn you if she ascends to the supremacy. She'll be worse than Fiona ever was. She'll _actually_ go through with her word."

"She won't be the next Supreme." Myrtle replied, shaking her head. "I won't let her, not if your life is in danger."

Cordelia glanced sideways at her, her eyes useless. "Why? Why did you choose me to covet?"

"Because you were sweet then."

_Then._

_She said then. She thinks I'm a monster. Like Nan did. Like Madison does. Like Misty would have._

Before she could protest, Myrtle continued. "Madison was not born to the Supremacy. But you, Cordelia, you have royal blood in your veins."

"I was born to a curse." Cordelia spat. "Don't talk about royal _anything_. The Goodes aren't what their names describe. Quite obviously. Fiona Goode. Cordelia Goode." She let out a joyless laugh, then sobered. "What are you saying?"

"I was a fool not to have realized it earlier, seeking all this time in the dust for that which may have been right before us all along."

"Spit it out, Myrtle."

"First, you were suppressed by your mother, then by your own theories. You have great power, my girl, power that has been seeking expression in these young vessels. But it's in you. You must let it out. You must perform the Seven Wonders." She paused. "That's the only way you'll come out of this with your life."

The alchemist laughed. "You think I could be the next Supreme?"

"I'd stake my life on it."

Cordelia shook her head. "What this Coven needs, isn't another Goode at the helm." She looked sightlessly out the window. "But I can't let this get out. I'm only doing this for us. I don't want this."

"That's my girl."

Minutes later, Madison was scoffing.

"You want me to finish the Seven Wonders, so you're trumping up some competition. I'm not stupid."

"Yes, you are." Queenie scowled.

Cordelia turned to Madison's voice and smirked, knowing that only the girl could see it, knowing the grimace the actress gave in return like the back of her hand. _Yes you are._

"Are you ready?"

She had to admit, she'd never expected Descendum to be like this.

She'd never flirted with it as younger woman, knowing she'd never be strong enough to come back out in time. She had to admit, that she'd expected her mother.

But Fiona Goode wasn't waiting for her when she awoke in the netherworld.

She was quite alone.

She had her sight back, and the feeling of being able to see again almost gave her a panic attack as she floundered around the bright white room. There were doors.

_Doors. Why is it doors._

_Doors hide the truth._

Her fingers reached out tentatively to the first one, but she drew back as it opened by itself. She lowered her eyes until she was staring into bright green ones.

"Theresa." She breathed out, voice shaking.

The girl stared back, a small frown on her face, but didn't say anything.

"I-you're okay." The headmistress could feel her words sticking in the back of her throat. The girl popped a bubble at her, but again, stayed silent. Cordelia reached out to sift her fingers through her hair, but the nine year old shied away, her eyes suddenly tearing up.

"No, no please don't cry."

"Baby." A voice snarked.

Cordelia whipped around. "_Ashley_."

"Hi. You look surprised." The blonde smirked and did a half twirl. "I do look a lot better than the last time you saw me though."

"You're dead."

"So is Theresa here." Ashley jutted her chin out at the girl. "And Cassandra. Remember her? She's around here somewhere, cowering, I'm guessing. She doesn't trust anyone easily anymore."

"Why are you here."

"Why?" The girl echoed. "Blind luck, maybe." She shrugged and gave Cordelia a devious smile. She sat down on the floor, leaning up against one of white walls, and Theresa climbed into her lap, chewing incessantly. It was only then that the headmistress noticed the scars on her legs, bleeding as they cracked open every time her skin moved. "But I hear we're getting a newcomer. Oh what's her name again…Cassie, do you remember?"

Another door had opened, and Cordelia bit back a little scream. The girl behind the wood shrugged softly, eyes riveted on the older woman. Her hair hung limp, like she'd just taken a shower. But Cordelia knew better.

The girl's voice was small. "You left me in the river. You know I hate swimming." She glanced sideways at Ashley. "I don't know. I stopped paying attention at all the girls that passed through here." She sat down, a foot or two away, a puddle of water forming around her.

"Theresa, do you know?" Ashley asked, bouncing the girl on her leg, blood wiping onto the girl's dress. She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. Because I do know."

She smirked. "Misty Day."

"Don't you dare-" Cordelia began, taking a step towards her. Cassandra let out a yelp and scrambled away.

"Don't _you_ dare!" Ashley yelled back, standing up. "This isn't your playground anymore, Cordelia! This is hell! _Your_ hell! And I'm gonna fucking enjoy it!"

Cordelia didn't know where she'd brandished the knife from, but the blood pouring out from in between her ribs felt real enough. She fell to the ground, gasping out, and Cassandra watched her almost peacefully.

"Use the beer bottle, Ashley. Like Hank did with you. Like he did with me."

Theresa cracked her gum.

She was quite alone.

_Doors. Why is it doors._

_Doors hide the truth._

"Oh hi."

Cordelia whipped around, eyes widening. Eyes that could see again.

"_Ashley_?" Behind the tall blonde hid a young brunette, a green eyed girl cracking her gum, watching Cordelia intently.

"Hi Miss Cordelia." Ashley mocked. She brandished a knife and threw it at Cassandra to catch, wet from head to toe. She caught it easily and stabbed the headmistress in her back, and Cordelia watched as Ashley fetched a beer bottle, still full.

She was quite alone.

_Doors. Why is it doors._

_Doors hide the truth._

Her fingers reached out for a doorknob, but she paused.

_I've done this before. I've done this before. I've done this before._

_Wake up Cordelia._

_Wake up._

Cordelia gasped out as she sat up, scrambling to feel the floor beneath her. She was blind again. A small comfort.

"What did you see?" A curious voice asked.

She bristled momentarily, her mouth opening to spill to Myrtle. She wanted to cry and curl up and not see the light of day ever again, but she sobered, and lied. "Me, trying to get Fiona's approval and getting bitch-slapped for it. Not exactly new." She didn't care if the redhead believed her or not.

She transmutated easily when Myrtle asked her to.

"Let us move on to the sixth. Divination."

"Fine. Okay, I'm back in." Madison snapped from a corner of the room. Cordelia turned to her and scowled, and seeing it, the actress angrily replied. "What? It's only fair. This thing started as a competition, I say we end it like one. Divination. Let's rock."

Myrtle sighed deeply, but began anyway. "Hidden in this house are items belonging to former Supremes. Cordelia, divine in the pebbles the location of the item which belonged to MiMi DeLongpre."

Madison scoffed. "Who knew the test came in Braille?"

_Stop being a bitch and play the game._

Cordelia's fingers flitted over the pebbles, her blessed, cursed, second sight offering help in this divination, and she easily had the answer._ I guess I could be the Supreme_. "Southwest corner. Up the stairs. Second door down the hall, beneath the dresser."

She heard Queenie's lumbering footsteps, and a minute later, Myrtle's soft voice. "The antique broach presented to Supreme MiMi DeLongpre on the night of the Great Ascension. Correct."

The headmistress could hear the smirk in the voodoo witch's tone. "Your turn, hotshot".

"Divine for us the location of the object belonging to Supreme Anna Leigh Leighton, Madison."

There was the sound of rocks being tumbled, a slightly panicked huff, and Cordelia couldn't help herself from laughing inside. _Breaking already?_

"This is stupid. I'm not doing it."

"Because you can't?"

_Of course she can't. She's not the next Supreme. I told her. She can't blame me for this._

_I told her._

Madison scrambled for her words, her volume growing and her pitch going higher. "Let me show you some real power. Let's go into the greenhouse right now, and I'll bring Zoe back to life."

Myrtle was harsh. "Divination first. We're doing this by the book."

"I'm sick of your book!" Madison stomped her foot. She was whining now. _It was attractive before, Madison. But it isn't now. It won't be ever again_. "I have so many powers, I could tear this room apart until there's nothing left but your little trinkets but, no, I have to do this bullshit!"

_Fail._

"Fail."

"Wait." The actress's eyes were brimming with tears, Cordelia could tell from where she was. _You just want to fit in. You can't even do that right. I told you something would happen to you_. "The vase above the fireplace."

"Wrong."

_I told you._

"The piano. I meant I meant the piano. There's something in the thing."

_I told you not to go to the party._

"Girl, no."

"This is bullshit."

"Cordelia did it."

"Because the game is rigged, Queenie. Wake up!" Madison yelled, her magick threatening to spill out, envelopping the blind alchemist in warmth.

"You would accuse us of chicanery?" Myrtle gawked.

"You bet your bony ass. I never had a shot at running this shit hole coven. I didn't even want to come here in the first place. It's all just some jacked-up version of Celebrity Rehab. I'm out of here."

_Oh._

_No._

_Come back._

"Thus endeth your Seven Wonders."

"Oh, no shit, lady! I'm going back to Hollywood where people are normal. And I suggest you change the locks because when I tell TMZ everything, it won't be long before torches, pitchforks and Molotov cocktails become a real big part of your day. Peace out!"

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

The headmistress was attracted to the sound of desperate squeals coming from down the hallway.

_Madison._

Her cane swung low against the floor as she paced herself down the wooden floors.

_I have to stop her before she leaves, before she tells anyone._

But she knew someone else was in the room with the actress before she stepped in. _Kyle._

She couldn't see, but she knew what was going on from the way the bed squeaked and from the way they both made noises of exertion. The blond haired boy, marred with scars, was squeezing the life out of the actress.

Her gasps were delicious.

She couldn't see, but she knew the girl was staring at her as she heard a soft "-Delia-", that the boy didn't hear as he hissed at her.

"You're not that good an actress."

There was a sickening last noise torn from Madison's throat, and the boy stepped back, gasping as he found the headmistress behind him.

Cordelia's dead eyes met Kyle's light ones, and she felt the shame there, but she didn't flinch.

"I-I-" He took a deep breath as tears formed at the corners of his eyes. "S-she wouldn't bring Zoe back."

"There's nothing to say." Cordelia snapped. She looked away in the darkness. "And there will be nothing to say." She paused and took a step closer. "As long as you give your life to the coven."

"What?"

"We lost Spalding. But you can take his place, permanently. No harm will come to you, if no harm comes to me. My secrets are yours, your secrets are mine. Understood?"

Kyle nodded avidly.

"I won't say anything to anyone about this, and I'll do what I can for Zoe." Cordelia threw over her shoulder as she tapped her way out of the room. "Take it as my first favor." She paused. "And Kyle?"

"Miss Cordelia?"

"I know what happened to you. What your mother did to you. If you betray me, I will do a lot worse."

Fitting that Madison would die at the hands of a boy. Fitting that the thing she saw last, was Cordelia.

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

Cordelia stood over Zoe's body, hands running her sides, blood thick and congealed under her fingers.

_Do I have to bring her back? Isn't she better off gone? But if I don't prove my powers, who will be Supreme?_

_Queenie will blame me. And she'd open her mouth. And I'm dead._

_And Kyle wouldn't be happy, and he's a liability._

The blood made her shiver as it reminded her of Papa Legba's hell. _Yet another reason to never fetch Misty. I can't go back there again._

_She can stay down there. With all of those ghosts._

_And Madison._

She concentrated as best as she could on the girl's body, channeling her thoughts and feelings and pain and magick into her fingertips as they ran up and past the witch's collarbone.

_Life. Come back to life. Come on._

The young witch gasped out as she rose to a sitting position, coughing out wildly as she breathed again, as her body mended itself. Kyle pushed Cordelia out of the way, his hands roaming her body, anchoring into her hair, as she whispered out 'thank god's and 'how's and cried against her.

Cordelia turned, and suddenly, she was seeing again. It was blurry at first, and it hurt, but it became clearer. Colors turned into shapes and shapes turned into colors and she could see her hands again.

She turned to Myrtle, and she could see her.

The redhead practically glowed. "The hallmark of any rising Supreme is glowing, radiant health. Behold. The one, true Supreme."

_Crown me, or kiss my ass._

_Crown me._

**One last installment to go! **


	14. Chapter 14

**There we are guys. The end of a journey.**

Co-written the fantabulous Graceonce. Thank you for being my partner on this crazy voyage.

**Rated M**

**Music: Family Jewels by Marina and the Diamonds  
**

_Oh, don't you find it strange? / Only thing we share is one last name / Did I beat you at your own game? / Typical of me to put us all to shame_

—-

"_Call us, e-mail us or just come to New Orleans. There is a home and a family waiting for you_."

Her voice reverberated around her study, coming from the television in the corner of her office, as she finished putting little colored pins on her United States map. She'd spent days in front of her computer, fixing her excel files, organizing all the phone calls, all the letters, all the girls that wanted to come to Robichaux's.

Cordelia turned as she heard her adopted mother, Myrtle Snow, come into her office. She smiled brightly and put down her folders.

"I'm so proud of you."

"Oh, Myrtle." The blonde shook her head, grinning despite herself. "We need to discuss the council. We've never had young witches on the Council, and Queenie and Zoe deserve an elevated role here at the school to set them apart. And also," She sighed. "I need to keep an eye on them. I'm still afraid that Queenie will go out and betray us, again. And if Kyle talks, Zoe talks. What do you think?"

"I would start by telling them that being an authority figure requires you to make hard, unpopular decisions for the greater good."

Cordelia turned to frown deeply at her. "They can handle it, if I teach them, mold them to my image."

"I was talking about you."

"Me?"

"You have every chance to be the greatest Supreme this coven has ever seen." Myrtle came over and removed the papers from Cordelia's hands. "Delia, I have something to say, and your tasteful modesty is out of fashion, so knock it off. Thanks to you, we're entering a new 've planted the seeds, but in order to reap their harvest, you have to clear the rot of the past."

"Myrtle, you know I love your metaphors, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Cut to the damn chase, will you?" The headmistress snapped, suddenly annoyed.

"Me. I'm talking about me."

The blonde laughed nervously, her mouth slack. "You want to be burned at the stake? Again?

"Want has nothing to do with it. At the start of your glorious reign, the last thing you need is an ABSCAM or Watergate. I killed, and I must pay for it. Now, before word leaks, and you are tainted by my hubris and actions, however deserved."

"Myrtle, Myrtle I can't. Who will protect me?" Cordelia stammered, taking the redhead's hands in hers.

"You will, darling dove. You're the Supreme now. You can do whatever you want, spit into whoever's drink." The elder shook her head. "I'm just a liability now."

"A, a liability?"

"Oh, you're still so naive." Myrtle laughed lightly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind the headmistress's ear. "Do you think parents will want to send children to a school run by a, a…" _A pedophile?_ "…by you? I could let the secret out. And if the secret is out, _you're_ out."

Cordelia grimaced and wrenched herself away from her elder's grip. "So you get to leave this world behind, and I get to stay? I've done much worse than you, why should I stay, and not you? Don't I deserve some respite too?" Her voice had risen an octave. "_You_ get to surrender and I get to struggle on? _In what world is that fair_-?!" She yelled.

"Delia-"

"Don't." The Supreme snapped. She turned away, breathing hard.

"I'm only thinking of you." Myrtle tried. "Everything you do or say ripples through the entire coven. You cannot be a hypocrite. I won't stand for it."

"You want to burn?" Cordelia asked, dark eyes black as she faced Myrtle Snow. "Then you'll burn."

OOOOOOoooooooOOOOOO

"_In the absence of the Council, as reigning Supreme of this coven, I hereby decree for the murders of our sister witch Cecily Pembroke and our colleague Quentin Fleming, you Myrtle Snow are hereby sentenced to death by fire_."

Her own words bounced around in her head as she made her way down her white hallways, the fire in her mind as hot as they'd been in the dump, watching Myrtle Snow go up in flames. She'd forgotten to mention a few things.

_For the aid in the murders of four girls. For hiding dead bodies. For hiding me._

She was wrenched out of her reverie by Queenie's voice, as she stood by Zoe at the window. "You got to check this shit out. Line's around the block."

Cordelia smiled and nudged past them, her mouth going dry at the sheer amount of girls waiting to come in through their doors. She took in a deep breath. "You two are powerful witches with more skills and confidence at your young age than I had for much of my life. I need both of you to help me fulfill the promise of all this coven can be. A place to protect, develop and celebrate witches. You will not only be my right hands, you will be my Council. What do you say?" _Please say yes please say yes I need to keep an eye on you please say yes._

"I got your back."

_Good enough_. "And you?"

Zoe blushed. "I'd be honored"

"Should we open the doors now?"

Cordelia opened her mouth to answer, but froze. Someone was in the house, someone she wasn't particularly fond of. _What the fuck is this, spider sense? I wasn't told about this_. "Not yet, stay here. There's one more thing I need to deal with."

The walls seemed to be closing in as she made her way downstairs, as she walked down to her faith, her destiny, her doom.

"I saw you die."

Fiona Goode, mother and Supreme, turned to her daughter. _You look like shit. I'm guessing the cocaine, the booze, caught up to you._

The older blonde, they dying blonde, laughed breathlessly. "Look again, now that you have real vision."

_Damn._

"I ruined a perfectly good pair of Jimmy Choos. But I knew you'd get rid of him for me, once he served his purpose."

"Whose blood was it?"_ I walked right into her trap, like I always have._

"A goat's."

She wanted to yell and to scream as her mother gave her some bullshit about immortality, about her being her bringer of death. _If only if only if only_. She fazed out, and only came back in when her mother stood to tremble in front of her.

"And when we're finally gone you will fulfill your destiny and lead this coven. God knows you'll do a better job of it than I ever did, though you won't look half as good doing it. Come on. For God's sake have mercy on me. Put me out of my misery. I hurt everywhere."

Cordelia laughed, almost coldly. "You're scared, maybe for the first time in your life. No powers, no magic. Just a woman facing the inevitable. A divine being finally having a human experience. No one can help you, Mother." She took a few steps towards Fiona, and took her in her arms gingerly. "You have to do this alone. And the only way out is through. So, feel the fear and the pain."

Fiona's voice was soft in her ear. "The fear and the pain? What are you saying?"

"Do you remember Ashley?"

The dying woman tried to pull away, but Cordelia held her tight to her chest. "Do you remember Ashley? That was me." She repeated. "I have to be honest with you, now that you're breathing your last breath. You gave birth to a monster. You raised a monster. You've given power, to a monster."

She felt Fiona's fingers clawing at her back.

"I had all the girls I wanted and even though you turned your head away, you can't listen to your own lies anymore. Hank was mine. Marie sat in his backpocket. I commanded Myrtle and Madison obeyed me. Nan was afraid, as you should be. Do you feel it mother? Your power dying?" She paused, gritting her teeth. "Truth is, you never had the power. You were never the leader of this Coven." Cordelia backed off, dark eyes boring into Fiona's hazel ones, full of fear and confusion. "Let it all in and then let it all go." She pulled her mother in again, sighing contendenly. "I don't think we've ever hugged."

OOOOOOooooooOOOOOO

"You're here."

Cordelia nodded. "All right, let's open the doors." She took her spot on the stairs and held her head high.

As she watched the new girls file in, she couldn't help but wonder at how many of her new students were homeless, couldn't help but wonder at how many were now shunned by their parents and their friends as witches. How many would now need a strong shoulder to cry on? How many would need her completely? Trust her?

Her council would be no problem. Easily modeled to her own image, Zoe could and would have the wool pulled over her eyes. It wasn't hard. As for Queenie, she noticed nothing, a trait her late friend, the clairvoyant, had not shared. Anyway, she'd be gone soon.

No. There would be no trouble from, or any others. Madison was upstairs and oh so very dead (Cordelia couldn't help but wonder if she was still as pretty in death as she had been in life), Misty was in Hell and there she would stay, Spalding as quiet as before and Kyle had learned to fear her, a lesson well learned. Stepping out of line with Cordelia would only send him back down a path of abuse. He stayed quiet. He stayed vigilant. He stayed on her good side.

"What's a Supreme?"

"You're looking at her."

Cordelia smiled.


End file.
